Article written by journalist and Ovation
publisher, Dele Momodu. Read below...
Fellow Nigerians, something
melodramatic occurred some days ago
in Doha, Qatar, United Arab Emirates,
where President Muhammadu Buhari
dropped a bombshell inadvertently.
And what was the matter? The
President in his usual candour and
uncommon honesty announced that
one of his major campaign promises
was no longer feasible and practicable;
the plan to pay unemployed youths a
paltry sum of N5,000 monthly stipend
was thus summarily jettisoned.
Or so it seemed. To be accurate, what Mr
President said with a wry smile was that this was a campaign promise of his Party and was one of the cardinal points of his Party’s Manifesto but he had not personally campaigned about it and it was not going to be a priority of his administration in view of other more significant and important
challenges.
However, all hell broke loose on social media
because the President’s body language
actually suggested that the pledge was dead in
the water and had not just been demoted
from the list of priorities. There were several
reasons why social and popular media became
instantly agog with activity on this issue.
Nigerian youths took great risk to get Major
General Buhari elected. They trusted him with
their lives and expected the change mantra to
become reality as soon as the People’s
General regained power after being sacked as
a military ruler in 1985. Truth is there are
already some loud whispers in many quarters
that lofty expectations are turning to a mirage
and that things are already falling apart. Every
explanation that it is too early to expect
miracles is hardly treated with belief.
Thus when the President delivered this
seemingly bad news to the expectant nation,
it did not go down well with many people.
First the location was wrong. I agree that such
monumental decisions should not have been
announced while sojourning abroad. To some
it would appear as if the President was taking
the easy pusillanimous way out. Perhaps, the
President should have addressed the nation
on home soil. Maybe the President could have
requested his ruling APC party to take the
bullet for him by getting the Party Chairman,
Chief John Oyegun, to talk to the nation about
the need to revise the manifesto that was sold
to the electorate with so much glee. There is
nothing wrong if fresh realities have
necessitated a change of plans. There is
usually a world of difference between the
idealism of opposition and the reality of being
on the hot seat. It is one of the reasons I
don’t envy the President on this present job.
Mr President and his Party would have to sit
down urgently to reappraise things and come
out with a tidier and clearer agenda
containing the realistic plan for Nigeria and
Nigerians in this dispensation. Sooner rather
than later, the first year of this administration
will come knocking. It would be disastrous if
by May 29, 2016, we still cannot have a
glimpse of where the government is headed or
heading. The staccato, stop-start fashion by
which things are being currently handled must
yield way to a smoother policy manifestation
and implementation. There are many things
that need to be worked on speedily.
The first and most pressing is the economy.
What is on ground now has been described by
a famous economist as “Robinson Crusoe
economics.” Like Robinson Crusoe, our
economy is being handled like one man living
alone on an uninhabited island but
surrounded by cannibals and vermin. The
economy is on a freefall, the sort we’ve not
encountered before. My humble suggestion is
that the President should assemble a crack
economic team immediately. Those who wish
to hold conferences can still do so especially
as we know where similar jamboree
conferences have gotten us in the past.
However, it is obvious that some people have
hijacked the misfortune of Nigeria and turned
it into a spectacular goldmine. “Voodoo
economics” is being practised by those milking
the country dry and their acolytes as well as
by others wishing to manipulate themselves
into the position of latter day economics
experts and get a slice of the national cake.
There are at this moment only a few sincere
economists about and we should tap into
these people but not make the mistake of
putting them on the same platform with the
evildoers lest we become unable to separate
the wheat from the chaff. A nation that fails
to consult and use its best brains is doomed
and may be permanently jinxed like we seem
to have been forever. In any event what is
necessary now is not to make the country a
debating society where esoteric and grand
economic principles are postulated and
propounded but a society where practical
visionary and meaningful economic policies
are garnered and implemented.
As young as I was in the days of Chief
Obafemi Awolowo, I was aware that his best
asset were the brightest brains he was able to
attract and assemble. He gathered their
brilliant ideas and merged them with his own.
Leadership is thus an art and science of
skillfully managing people and resources. It is
even easier these days. In the age of advanced
technology, where you can buy whatever you
lack, including brains. As advanced as Britain
is, the Governor of the Bank of England was
recruited from Canada. No one raised
eyebrows because the most important thing
was getting the job done. Our parochialism
will kill Nigeria ultimately if care is not taken.
Many of the voodooists controlling Nigeria
know nothing about modern governance or
managing an economy, not to mention an
ailing one. What is worse is that they know
that they know not but would not agree to
allow those who know something to do
anything.
The time has come to declare an emergency
on an evil economic apparatus foisted on us
by selfish people that may end up ruining our
otherwise great country. I believe we should
rise above partisan politics and bring our past
and present geniuses together including The
Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, The
Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, The
Governor of the Central Bank, Mr Godwin
Emefiele, The Emir of Kano, His Highness
Lamido Sanusi, Professor Charles Soludo, Mrs
Oby Ezekwesili, Professor Part Utomi, Mr
Bismark Rewane, and some of our brilliant
University dons to fashion out a way out of
this scandalous debacle.
The next thing is for this government to
reflect true frugality and shed the toga of
prodigality that is already rearing its ugly
head. The President should be alerted about
how those outside now believe he has already
joined the psychedelic class by wasting
resources on flights of fancy and excessively
flamboyant and ostentatious airport
ceremonies. The social media caught fire last
Monday as the pictures of our Brigade of
Guards in Scottish kilt fully piped up
welcomed the President on his arrival from
his Middle East tour went viral. Such frivolity
did not reflect the mood of the nation. The
President’s winning formula had always been
his simplicity, humility and childlike
innocence. He must resist the temptation of
being corrupted by the carpetbaggers who
litter our corridors of power. Running the
different tiers of government has been a
major drain on our economy. It is also the
reason the citizens would not change their
ways when government refuses to set good
examples.
Everything humanly possible should be done
to empower and encourage Mr Babatunde Raji
Fashola to give us power. There will never be
any meaningful development and progress
until we can generate enough electricity and
be able to transmit and distribute this
effectively. When people shout that we should
patronize made in Nigeria products they
conveniently forget that most of what we use
in making the made in Nigeria products were
fabricated and made abroad. At best we are
only an assembly line for these products. An average company loses its profit to what should have been provided ordinarily by government. I cannot begin to overemphasise the importance of electricity.
Nigerians will never forget whoever can put an end to their life in perpetual darkness. It is worth every effort and investment.
It is heartening to note that there are those ready and willing to partner with Government at little or no cost to make our dire power situation a thing of the past using both conventional and sustainable energy solutions.
All that seems to be required is for
government to discard any policy that would be a stumbling block to the utilisation of these opportunities. Nothing must be seen as set in stone. National development requires not only flexibility but a willingness to think outside the box. It is time to seize the moment!
In the name of God, we must revamp our
educational institutions. It is disgraceful that
we watched them collapse and we have
refused to do anything tangible to bring them
back to par with their counterparts elsewhere.
The APC should tell and demonstrate in
concrete terms what it intends to do to
restore the lost glory of our schools from
primary to tertiary institutions. Mercifully,
the Vice President comes from a scholarly
background and hopefully should be able to
activate and actualize what the former
President Goodluck Jonathan, himself an
academic, could not achieve in the five years
he spent as substantive number one citizen of
Nigeria.
Without quality education, most of our
graduates would never be employed or even
become employable. Our school curriculum
must now be redesigned in such a way that it can be relevant to the needs and requirements
of our tough situations. Entrepreneurship
should become a compulsory subject. This is why we must commend and recommend the great initiative by Tony Elumelu’s foundation that seeks to locate and situate hidden talents and future captains of industry. Innovation and inventiveness must be encouraged. There are Nigerians undertaking breathtaking research in many fields of human endeavour within the hallowed precincts of our university communities but they do not have the financial muscle or government encouragement and backing to be able to bring their dreams into reality. Great nations are made from developing such talents.
Research and development (R & D) is the way to go. Most of our manufacturing companies hardly have any such viable R & D departments. Incentives must be given to all concerned, including funding and tax initiatives, so that our nation may truly enter the industrialised comity of nations and not just pretend that we are better than mere panel beaters!
Yes, it is time for APC and the Government to set their priorities again but this must be done with a sense of purpose and a desire to take the people to a higher level. May God help them.
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