Like many Nigerians, especially, some of us who the country had been good to and who are beneficiaries of the glorious good old days of Nigeria, most of us go to bed almost daily with heavy hearts that after long nights of sleeplessness, kept awake and in pains, and unable to comprehend what has become of Nigeria. A country that has been so blessed with abundant human and natural resources, that have unfortunately, been plundered, by those entrusted with them for the common good.
In light of the continuous shenanigan and weakened state of Africa’s most populous country, the urge came upon me, as I am wont to do, to pen down some thoughts as a citizen of Nigeria, whose inalienable right as enshrined in the Constitution to express his opinion and speak up, is guaranteed, since darkness seems to blight the hope, joy and peace of majority of Nigerians and foreigners, alike, who dwell in this land of misused milk and honey.
Now is not the time to play the usual ethnic and religion blame game. For we all, collectively as a people are guilty and have failed, not only the hard working and honest Nigerians, but we have failed the continent and the entire black race, who we ought to be an exemplary nation of Peace and Prosperity. We have failed to actualize our God-ordained destiny, of the leadership and a symbol of progress and enterprise for the African continent.
It is not my intention to begin to reel out some of the challenges that subsequent failures of leadership have wrought on Nigeria, or failed to address, starting from the military regimes up until, this third democratic dispensation which commenced in 1999. The kleptomania and squadanmania of the multi billion dollars that have accrued as revenues into the country’s coffers, over decades, since the discovery of crude oil in Oloibiri, Rivers State by Shell Petroleum in 1956. That is not my intention.
The sole purpose of this article is to add my voice in advising Nigerians, who, understandably have lost all respect and hope for the government of the day. This is simply to appeal to the humanity and the last patriotic zeal in us, since we have endured painfully in the last 7 and half years, we surely can patiently endure, the next few months that will goad the present administration out of office by June, 2023. And to ensure that we are not tempted, by taking any actions or reactions, that could create any chaos that would lead to excuses for non compliance to a smooth handover of power to the winner of the 2023 presidential elections and the inauguration of a new president and hopefully, a more competent, credible and focused democratic dispensation.
Essentially, any disruption to the smooth handover of the reins of government to the next president, would spell doom and be catastrophic for Nigeria and the continent.
That is why, the recent strike by the Nigerian Electricity Employees Union (NUEE), which plunged the entire country into darkness, lacked strategic thinking on the part of the leadership and ill timed, at this very delicate period in the history of the country. It is important to note that this is not an attempt at the justification or otherwise of the strike. But specifically, make the NUEE leadership to realize that that singular action, could lead to a snowball disruption which could jeopardize the 2023 elections that would see the end of the current political leadership of the country, which is only few months away.
Nigerians of all walks of life are all aggrieved, just like the electricity workers are. These include, doctors, nurses, pharmacist, radiologist and all those in the medical profession, lecturers, students, workers, housewives, husbands, mother, fathers. The list is legion. No Nigerian is immune from the hyperinflation, unemployment, high cost of living and the very high misery index in the country. Notwithstanding the difficulties of the moment, let us not follow recent examples of countries like Sri Lanka and Sierra Leone, where citizens took to the streets to protest high costs of living and the subsequent loss of innocent lives. Nigeria has had its fair share of protests, such as the EndSars, unrest and a civil war, in which millions of lives were lost.
Now, whosoever emerges as the president, come 2023, has an enormous responsibility cut out for him. It cannot be business as usual. Because, the new president, shall inherit a very tensed, polarized and bankrupt country, where the social and economic fulcrum of the country have been politicized, compromised, treated with levity and total lack of vision and accountability. Where monetary and fiscal policies are inconsistent, and indiscipline is pervasive, with a hugely and corruption laden subsidized petroleum and electricity power sectors. The foreign and domestic debt stock, which had been reduced to nearly zero by the Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala led Finance Ministry, under the Obasanjo administration, has now ballooned to over $40billion in the last 7 years The Naira has been steadily devalued by nearly 20O%.
The next president “To Do List” is long, enormous and tasking. The key areas that would require very urgent attention are:
• Security of lives and property and to secure Nigeria from external threats (terrorists, bandits, known and unknown gunmen), kidnapping etc
• Electricity Power Sector- Generation, Transmission and Distribution. The entire value chain, decentralization of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), implementation of a Cost Reflective Tariff, increased Renewable energy, implementation of Eligible Customer regime.
• Education Sector: address and put a permanent stop to the incessant ASUU strike, which only affects the students and families who choose to send their children and wards to federal and state universities. Whereas, their colleagues in private universities continue their studies uninterrupted.
• National Reconciliation: Nigeria has never, even during the Biafra war, been so divided and polarized along ethnic and religious dichotomy. There is an urgent need for a president who can heal the mutual distrust, reconcile the various nationalities and heal the wounds.
• It is crystal clear, that one of the challenges and trouble with the harmonious coexistence of Nigerians in the state of Nigeria, is the 1999 Constitution (as Amended).It is either, the new president calls for a Constitutional Review (which would be expensive), or take the bull by the horn, by implementing the recommendations of the Goodluck Jonathan 2014, National Conference
• Removal of Subsidies: immediate removal of subsidies in the petroleum and electricity power sectors. Also the removal of the subsidized value of the Naira
• Incentivize Non oil export products in order to increase the inflow of foreign currencies
• Create a strong and efficient Diaspora Remittance and Investment Funds, to ensure easy and secure in flow of foreign currencies from Nigerians in the Diaspora and foreign investors.
• All government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (including the president, ministers, permanent secretaries and all government workers who are entitled to the use of official vehicles), must be made as an official policy to patronize and use Made In Nigeria vehicles from local manufacturers and assemblers such as Innosson Motors and Peugeot Automobile of Nigeria (PAN) and the rest.
• Trim the size of government after the constitution would have been reviewed, to do away with the provision where each state of the federation is required to produce a Minister in the federal cabinet.
The above actions, as temporarily painful as they may be, if implemented simultaneously, would certainly reverse and revive the comatose Nigerian economy and position the country, on the trajectory of economic growth.
NB: Sonny Iroche is a Senior Academic Fellow at African Studies Centre, University of Oxford, England.
