By Enyeribe C. Chukwu
This write-up is not a chronicle of mistakes; nor a conscious effort to x-ray the mistakes of leadership in Nigeria but a conscious, concerned and determined effort to correct some of the perceived lapses in the personal conduct of some of our leaders, which conduct may have serious national consequences on the economic front; and on the psyche of the country as a result of the negative perception such conduct has elicited on the considerations and appraisals by our so called international assessors and financiers; the World Bank, the IMF, the EU, the America Business Community, the different Economic Blocks, European, Asian, the G7, the G20, the BRICS etc.
Note that the writer has consciously removed the African economic block like the ECOWAS, AU, the East African and South African Blocks because their leaders fall into the same template as their Nigerian Counter part.
In a manner of speech, what applies to Nigeria, also applies to these African countries.
We should watch our public utterances. Our leaders should learn to talk-less and do more. Action, they say, speaks louder than words. Words destroy, for once proclaimed or pronounced; cannot be retrieved with or without collateral or consequential damages.
This discourse will take us through 1999 to 2024; a period of 25 years, Nigerians embraced in 1999, the return of Democracy under the leadership President Olusegun Obasanjo; after a stunted but prolonged hegemony of the various Military Heads of State for 33 years, even nature as it’s own trick on our psyche. Notice the play on numbers; 33, 66, 99. Either ways you look at these numbers the difference between them is 33. The test of our democratic experience can only last for 33 years; and today we are in the 25th years with 8th more years to go. By the year 2032 or even before it Nigeria will crash. If we continue in this present trajectory.
Our great expectations, nick-named ‘Dividends of Democracy’ were few. As simple and as little as our expectations were, they can be summarized in a hand full of demands;
Credible Elections Energy – Power (electric) and fuels (PMS, AGO, DPK or Paraffin), Good Roads, especially Inter State and Federal Good drinking water, Good Education/Good & Affordable public schools/Universities Good Health Systems & Institutes Security.
A good and thriving Economy is not one of the demands of the Nigeria hoi polloi; but it is a veritable visa, a condition sine qua-non for the achievements of the goals listed in (1) to (vii) above.
It is therefore the fundamental duty of government to generate policies to drive the economy towards productivity that enables the realization of the set objectives as in (i) to (vii) above. Such productive energy must fire up the internally generated revenue of the Nation or States for any meaningful development to take place. In order words the government must provide the level playing field to enable participants become players in the industry called Nigeria. As diverse and diversified as Nigeria is, the market is and cannot be the problem.
The problem lies with the kind of leaders, we the people put in place or rather the kind of leaders that get elected without our votes; and there are many of them, in both the states and at federal levels. A general or war commander before going to war, first, sits down to assess the strength of his army, the capacity of his armory, the availability of Re-enforcements and supplies for his troops.
In direct civil parlance, the above reasoning translates into the need for consultations, dialogue, fact-checks or quick assessments. Policies ought not to be heard first on Radios/TVs before they are assessed or evaluated. A good leader ought not to play up to the gallery.
Leadership is about the people: (i) Their welfare (external person) which include infrastructure and security (ii) their wellness and well being (internal person) which includes health and educational) and the leader should know that anything, situation or condition that diminishes the quality of life of the people smacks of bad leadership. A leader must at all times uphold, improve or enhance the quality of life of his people.
The Czech Republic joined the EU in about 2014; but gave its people a period of about 10 years before adopting the Euro as a national currency in 2024: this is where the people matter. This same example in the areas of taxation, currency changes immigration policies etc in the UK & US and some E.U Countries have been promulgated for the benefits of their peoples by allowing two to three years transition periods; before implementation. These are countries where the people mattered.
In Nigeria and most African Countries the people do not matter:
Election results are announced even where the polls did not happen – the people did not vote
Where the people voted, their votes do not count
Policies of government are not for the people (the hoi-poloi) but for the rich, the elite
Population demography is never taken into account in the allocation of resources
People oriented projects are never pursued with vigour and speed.
Taxation targets the poor, not the rich and elite
Perquisites of office, social amenities are for the rich and elite (the political class)
The political class, rich and elite keep on adjusting their salaries and allowances up wards whenever they like to the detriment of the people.
The people are perpetually kept poor, ineffective and castrated by deliberate policies so that the political class (the rich) can have their way with whatever amount of money they desired.
When the vote of the people do not count, the simplest interpretation is that the people are not being considered in the policy of government. That is why the political class can boldly stand by a polling booth or nearby buying votes from sun and weather beaten voters whose only hope for a meal that day is the paltry sum of N5,000 or N10,000 doled out to them in exchange for their support vote.
Our leaders, whether at the Executive arm or judiciary or legislature should spare a though for the people of this country, Nigeria – the Hoi-Poloi the Massa Damnata, the wretched of the earth; in the poverty capital of the world, Nigeria should compare with countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Burma, Thailand, but these have achieved milestones in developmental strides and in the cost of living indices.
Many countries of the world including some African countries have either conquered the stars and the moon and have subjugated the outer space; or are trying to get to the moon; but my country Nigeria is yet to discover the roads to our villages. some legislatures are trying to acquire some exotic Jeeps costing about N160 million each; when in actual fact, there are no good roads from the North to the East, from the East to the West; and from the west to the North; Urban roads are a different cup of tea’ we are talking of Economic roads, for the movement of goods and services across geopolitical zones. What shame! It is difficult to believe that some leaders, political parties bestrode our enclave or fiefdom or political space for 4, 8, 12, 16 or more years and have made no impact on the lives of the average Nigerian.
No good road, no electricity, no water, no good and affordable schools, no running industries. Nigeria imports everything from tooth picks to Rice to cars to fuel for cars and machinery.
Our leaders have become roaches, leeches, locusts, termites ravaging on the little resources, the common wealth meant for the common good to the embarrassment or detriment of the ordinary people. Salaries and allowances of our leaders are far out of reach with the reality on ground. Appointments are made in Disregard of the Federal Character Mantra; and cabinets are bloated in geometric proportions that constitute hydra headed hernia in the intestine of the economy, which already is anaemic.
The Nigerian economy is suffering from serious hemorrhage and I don’t see it recovering any time soon. To think that a senator or House Rep or a Counselor who sits, idle most of the time in the hallowed chambers, earns more salary and allowances than a university professor or lecturer; is to sell a dog to buy a monkey in substitution.
This is retrograde! Though the stooping syndrome common to both animals remain, but every other advantage of the dog is lost. The dog here is the university watch dog. This principally accounts for the brain drain the hemorrhage in the academia in Nigeria.
The surest way of scoring 1000% in economic growth is to kill all, or most of the people. The IMF is advising African leaders to kill their people as a way of achieving economic growth; it is shameful to believe that our leaders take these instructions without reviewing them. To ask a country like Nigeria to remove fuel subsidy is the fastest way to kill the people of Nigeria. The entire live-wire of any nation is the availability of fuels as a form of energy, be it electricity, fossils, solar, nuclear, water (hydro) blood. Without energy you will die and if you cannot afford any of the forms of energy. You will die any ways. Since the removal of subsidy of fuels in 2023, Nigerians are suffering and are dying.
Nigerians are bleeding and dying slowly. The trick of the IMF is that we must reduce our populations drastically as a means of achieving economic growth for development.
They may not recommend direct extermination of a people but they create policies that ultimately decimate through hardships, starvations, suicides, unrests, protests insurrections against constituted authorities and probably wars of attrition.
Why do you think that small countries like Saudi Arabia, Quatar, United Arab Emirate are very rich? It is because they have smaller populations. Why do you think that China had the policy of one couple one child” it was to control the population of China and make it rich. Today China is smiling as the 2nd largest Economy in the world. Why do you think that Germany and Japan are today controlling their populations? And the European Union and U.K keeping away immigrants from Europe, preferring them to die in the Mediterranean sea?. It is to have control of their economy and to maximize economic growth for their peoples.
The IMF pill is presently being resisted by the Kenyan people who have put their fate, their future, into their hands and the Kenyan Government is already baulking at the idea.
The Nigerian government should immediately retrace its steps, peg the fuel price at N300.00 per litre; and go after the subsidy scammers who have pillaged the economy since 1999. This is the only way to recover the trust of the Nigerian people in their government which has hitherto greatly eroded, and at the brink of a calamitous disaster.
CREDIBLE ELECTIONS
One of the dividends of a Democracy is the conduct of a free, fair, credible and acceptable elections.
One of the contributors to the program DEMOCRACY TODAY anchored by Ijeoma Osamor of AIT said that in a Democracy the Leaders fear the people (i.e. fear of election) but what we have in Nigeria is Civil rule, where the people fear the leaders. I agree intoto.
We don’t have Democracy in Nigeria but a civil rule where the rulers are not in military uniforms but in flowing gowns with caps to fit, depending on where they come from, Igbo, Hausa or Yoruba etc or any imitation or combination of the tribes.
The common people of Nigeria will only matter, when, in any election the sanctity of the ballot box is respected. We can achieve democracy without achieving the democracy of the ballot box; in which case that democracy is not a true democracy. It could be civil rule as defined above or a military democracy, defined in military terms. After all, President Mathew Aremu Obasanjo and President Muhammadu Buhari were both military Generals who ruled Nigeria, together for 16 years. What changed under them? Did we make any progress under them? President Obasanjo in particular missed a great chance of being a great leader when in 2003 & 2007 he introduced the notion of “do or die elections”. And President Buhari refused to give us a workable Electoral Act in 2019 when it mattered most.
The graceful President Aminu Yar’Adua of blessed memory acknowledged the flaws in the elections that ushered him to power and promised Reforms. President Goodluck Jonathan started a good work when he inaugurate the 2014 confab; but had no courage to complete it. The ball is now in the court of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to give us a workable credible and acceptable electoral reforms.
The yearly Jamboree of June 12 would have no meaning at all, if we cannot replicate those things; those nuances; the option A4; the transparency, the peace, the non-violence, the sanctity of the ballot and the box. The timeous collation and declaration of the results etc. It is no. use talking about June 12 and to observe a holiday, makes it even more non-sensical if we cannot do the least of the things or attribute or concomitant to the original June 12th 1993. June 12 should only be a sign post pointing to all future election to be worth celebrating, if not, damn it!!!
The Electoral Act 2022 should further be amended to permanently fix the burden of proof on INEC to disprove specific allegations of vote rigging, over voting or under voting or inconclusive or non or void elections; by the production of Registers or statutory forms or templates, already in its possession or custody as an electoral umpire, for quicker and fair dispensation of justice.
ENERGY: We shall refer as Energy the following categories: (i) Electric power (ii) solar power (iii) fossil fuels. Fossil fuels can further be divided into PPMS (Petrol) Ago (Diesel) DPK (kerosene) and Natural Gas (LNG).
The Reasons we have urban migrations to the big cities in search of a good life is the necessity of Energy. Job opportunity, yes is a factor, but essentially the most important is the availability of Electricity. To curb this menace; is the reason for the massive rural electricity programmes embarked upon by both the Federal & State governments in the recent past. Electricity has become a very critical need for every family, every home, every person or corporate person.
It is very disturbing that since 1999 when the 3rd Republic of Nigeria presumably began with the ascendancy of President Obasanjo at the helm of affairs; we were told that the total electricity generated back then was about 2.8 megawatts; and 20 years thereafter, to be told that we have only managed to add about 2.3 megawatts to the existing 2.8; is very worrisome considering our towering population of about 200 million people. South Africa with a population of 80 million is said to have achieved 45 megawatts.
The unbundling of PHCN into the present Gencos and Discos is not helpful, as the distribution companies were not vested on core investors, but on patrons who had no dime to invest in the projects. You don’t do business by patronages. The Federal Government still remains the core investor; and as we speak, has engaged the Siemens of Germany to upgrade that sector. To have to wait for 24 years for the revamping of that sector is a great disregard to the needs of the Nigeria people, who deserve better.
Solar Power – Modernity is the rule of the game. Nigeria is blessed with about 14 hours of sunlight everyday depending on what part of the country you find yourself. The villages, the forests, mountains and plains should be replete with solar panels and batteries. This is where Siemens of Germany will play a better role. The climate change drum is beating for a paradigm shift from the burning of (harmful) fossil fuels to a more environmentally friendly and benign solar powered energy.
A household completely fitted with solar panel will be self sufficient in energy demands and free from the vagaries of emissions and pollutions. This is the way to go! It should not take another 20 years before the Nigerian worker begins to reap the benefits of this alternative source of Energy. Our leaders should start given priorities to public utilities and stop relegating them, in preference to white elephant projects.
ROADS AND INFRASTRUCTURES
The average Nigerian is very contented with a little prospect and can go to bed happily with only a promise of a better life which he cannot vouch could affect his living condition anytime soon. The Nigerian citizen has been buffeted and inundated with promises upon promises of better things to come, from increases in salaries, to better working conditions, housing, transportation, to improved infrastructures: roads; water, electricity, railways and Aviation services. Educational and health services etc. by our politicians since 1999, on the heels of our 3rd Republic Democracy.
Of what use is a Lagos – Calabar Coastal Highway, when the roads to our various villages are impassable. How much revenue will a Lagos – Calabar Highway bring to the economy more than Abuja-Lagos, Lagos Onitsha or Kano – Lagos, Sokoto – Minna – internal roads! Which of these roads are for the benefit of the ordinary Nigerian person? Do the poor Nigerian people matter? How many inter-state roads are today in motorable conditions? How many states are today covered by the Railway systems? The water ways; the Airways? Are the means of transportations affordable? We are talking of the National Minimum wage pegged at N70,000.00. Does the FGN known that it costs more than N40,000.00 on a one-way ticket to travel to Lagos by bus from Abuja or Kaduna or any part of the North. The N13 trillion cost of the Coastal High Way will be enough to fix all the dilapidated Federal and State Roads in Nigeria and fix more rail lines and purchase more coaches for the benefit of the Nigeria poor masses.
With the unbundling of the 774 Local Governments from the tenacious grips of the state governors, the way is now open for direct government to people investments. The primary education and facilities should be the sole responsibility of the local governments. The secondary schools ought to be the charge of the State government with universities in the concurrent list of both the FGN and the states.
Nothing should stop a local government from embarking on Road projects, particularly agricultural and service Roads. All three tiers of government should have capacities to do roads that fall within their projected economic interests, like the Coastal High Way by the FGN; the interstate Roads should be left for the states concerned.
Ranching and allied services should exclusively be the responsibility of the Local Government Councils. The National Assembly should be whittled down, both in numbers and in personal emoluments. These people collect all manners of allowances from toilet, to fucking, to furniture; to sneezing to amnesia, to clothing, fuel subsidy, constituency, even for sleeping in chambers.
The most annoying is the constituency project appropriation of N500 million which they have cleverly converted into personal allowances, now paid to them in monthly installments. When Senator Ali Ndume condemned this thieving attitude; they wanted to kill him, but managed to strip him of respect and dignity accorded ordinary members of the National Assembly. Why has the Senate become a ‘Refuge of Sinners” for all the ‘Thieving’ governors, all those haunted by the EFCC, find solace within the Red Chambers as a cover. After all a Senator once, was quoted as saying: “Once you join ‘APC’, that your sins are forgiven”. All the governors receiving pensions from their states; and are today, in the Senate collecting salaries, allowances and other perquisites of office approved by the senate; are ‘thieves’ and Nigerian people stand with Ndume on this. We should say it loud, there are thieves in the senate; and the Senate President should note this and rid the senate of thieves and other miscreants. The Nigerian people have no confidence in the senate and for that matter in the entire National Assembly for the shoddy manner or the lack of any manner of approach to alleviate the sufferings of the Nigeria people. There is a total disconnect between the National Assembly and the Nigerian people.
Going back to the old National Anthem jettisoned in 1978, only showed that the National Assembly lacked vision of what Nigerians need, I do hope that the National Assembly members will sing that anthem at the beginning and close of each session every day; and ‘Nigerians’ problems will be solved.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is supposed to be a listening leader judging from his past antecedents as an activist, a political juggernaut who has seen it all, in both Nigeria and outside; who has been in exile and knows what Nation-states stand for; who knows the meaning of freedom and what it means to be under the shackles of poverty. Him, it was, who was quoted and saying: ‘Let the poor breathe’. That was an assurance of hope, rather than what was presented as Renewed hope.
The acolytes of Mr. President are hiding under the banner of ‘Renewed Hope’ to unleash and inflict all manners of injustices, hardship, pain, on the hoi-polloi, the Massa damnata, the wretched of Nigeria. “Renewed hope” has turned into “Hopelessness” in so short a time. It is inconceivable that what is happening to Nigerians is happening under the watch of Mr. President. Mr. President, do not be caught unawares for lack of what to do. Dust up the 2014 confab report of President Jonathan. Set the National Assembly to work for solution. Rehash the constitution, the tenure of office of elected officers, cut down on cost of governance, stop the stealing in the National Assembly; create opportunities for the young people of Nigeria, Revive the ailing industries, textiles and motor manufacturing (Three of them). A smart move now; will avert any intended or on-going protest. Delay is dangerous. Hearken to the voice of wisdom and the advice of the labour leader for dialogue and see what Nigeria will become; and you, a Great President”
Sir. Enyeribe C. Chukwu
Solicitor & Advocate
