It has been suggested in different fora that one of the best ways to achieve even development may be for all entrepreneurs to start by investing each in their own state. Employ all the able-bodied in the state. Saturate their own state with agricultural or manufactured products (and make all the profit), before exporting to other states or nations.
All the official fuss over “state of origin” ought to mean something beyond the need to identify citizens for purposes of “cake sharing,” according to Professor Jamie Onwuchekwa, BusinessDay’s former Editor-in-Chief. It should also identify citizens for productivity and service.
Isn’t it a shame that any state should lag far behind the rest in education, health care, clean water, good roads or public transport—all modern indices of development?
A commitment to helping your state win the friendly competition of “best state” by every measure is therefore a very healthy and worthwhile thing. Beauty (or charity) begins (and ought to begin) at home. You start being well groomed, smartly dressed and attractive from inside your house or compound before stepping out, not the other way round. This is even, if you like, a law of nature, he says.
However, when these basic necessities a state is supposed to provide the citizenry are lacking, disillusionment can set in – leading, most often, to forced migration (this is what you hear when you meet Nigerians and some other Africans in South Africa).
Remember in the recent past, when the Senate moved to salute Nigeria on her 53rd Independence Anniversary, ravings and rantings, lamentations and wailings filled the Chamber.
To quote one media source, speaker after speaker “berated both past and present leaders for failing to alleviate all the woes bedevilling the nation. . . . Most of the senators who spoke . . . lamented on the poor living conditions of many Nigerians and decay in infrastructure.”
“Many of the senators,” according the source, “attributed the slow pace of development to sentimental and parochial inclination of the nation’s leaders both past and present, while others blamed the nation’s lack of development on corruption.”
Well, as the saying goes, when you point one finger at someone else, at least three of your fingers point back at you. The supreme irony is that every member of the National Assembly (Senate and House of Representatives) is part of the leadership in question.
So, in the recent tweets by Shehu Sani, senator representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly, suggesting that South African companies operating in Nigeria take responsibility of compensating Nigerians who were victims of xenophobic attacks in South Africa generated the kind of condemnation that could be regarded as sensible.
Though Sani did not specifically mention any South African companies operating in Nigeria, he was wise enough to drop the idea immediately he sensed that it was a fight that would go nowhere.
The fact is, there are more than four dozens of South Africa firms operating in Nigeria, and if they are held responsible for a sin they did not commit, or maybe otherwise forced to close shop, the effect would be more devastating than imagined on Nigeria, especially this time the unemployment figure is soaring.
Sani tweeted: “South African companies based in Nigeria should take up the moral challenge of modestly compensating the families of Nigerians killed or injured in South Africa.”
His reason: “This would help in calming nerves resulting from ceaseless xenophobic attacks against our innocent citizens.”
From records, some of South Africa’s leading companies in Nigeria include MTN, Power Giant, Eskom Nigeria, South African Airways, South African Breweries (SAB Miller), MultiChoice and Umgeni Water.
Others include Refresh Products, PEP Retail Stores, Shoprite, LTA Construction, Protea Hotels, Critical Rescue International, South African-Nigeria Communications, Global Outdoor Semces, Oracle, etc.
An analysis of Nigerians under their employ shows that MTN has about 18,931 globally, and MTN Nigeria has the largest part in this figure.
Eskom Nigeria has about 47,658 globally, and Nigeria is one of the biggest market and has nothing less than between 10,000 and 15,000 Nigerians in its employment.
South African Airways has about 10,500 workers globally, and Nigeria being it major market in sub-Saharan Africa has about 2,000 of its nationals under its employ. Also, South African Breweries (SAB Miller) has about 70,000 employees globally, 9,400 in South Africa and about 7,000+ in Nigeria.
On the other hand, MultiChoice has about 6,963 Nigerians as employees, and Umgeni Water about 1,046 Nigerians working with it.
PEP Retail Stores has about 15,000 workforce globally, over 3,000 staff in Africa, and 327 employees in South Africa, and added to this is Shoprite, which has 44,000 globally, 23,500 work outside South Africa, and majority of this in Nigeria.
Oracle on its own has about 138,000+ globally, and proportionate number of this in Nigeria.
The figure goes on, but these are just those under direct employment. Imagine the figure the indirect employment will bring up. So also other numerous South African companies we can capture here. Imagine also the numbers of Nigerians under the employment of LTA Construction, Protea Hotels, Critical Rescue International, South African-Nigeria Communications, Global Outdoor Semces, etc.
Nigerians’ reaction: “Nope, I don’t key into this idea @ShehuSani. Companies are run by private individuals. Yes, they might be South Africans but one should not pay for a crime he didn’t commit. There’s nonsense or whatsoever in this. Let’s devise another means but not this one,” Aminu Saleh said.
Another Twitter user simply identified as NDK said since the companies do not have hands in such attack they should not be held responsible.
“The companies are already creating jobs here and they have no hand in the attacks, why bring them into this? If anyone should be compensating, it should be the government of NGR that has frustrated so many to emigrate due to terrible state of the Nation.”
“It is saddening that many countries of the world are taking Nigerians for a ride yet our leaders are adopting the ‘sidon look’ approach as of we are incapacitated. We can do something by severing diplomatic relations and imposing sanctions on such nations,” Nnamdi Abana tweeted.
Maaji Idris, who opposed the suggestion, tweeted, “Wrong suggestion!! Do not create problem for them. The innocent and business concerns should not asked to bear it rather the South African govt MUST adequately compensate the families and perpetrators brought to book.”
My brother Sani, as said earlier, we have all contributed in one way or the other to force some of our youths to migrate, especially you and your colleagues in the National Assembly.
In few days time, the eighth National Assembly will come to an end, and many of your colleagues have been there for four years without any significant contribution to their constituency – why will the youths from such environment not jump at the slightest opportunity to travel, whether he or she has anything to offer the country they go. A stitch in time saves nine, as the saying goes.
OSA VICTOR OBAYAGBONA
