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.
