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.