President Buhari’s in. So, what next? (4)

Electricity is king. Mr. President, sir, if you plan to, please do not reverse the gains (including sale of PHCN assets) made by your predecessor in the power sector. One of the hallmarks of democracies is sanctity of contract. If you reverse the power privatisation, you would be sending wrong signals to domestic and international investors. It is important to state that Nigeria may be a “beautiful bride” but the emerging common market in East and Southern Africa is fast becoming a formidable competitor with arguably better infrastructure than we have. When electricity is widely available and accessible, it leads to increased productivity of agricultural and non-farm enterprises. Much remains to be done in the sector and constructive engagement will lead us to required solutions. We must with commitment but gradually approach the World Bank recommendation of dedicating 4.2 percent of GDP to infrastructure investment and 3.3 percent of GDP to infrastructure maintenance.

If during your tenure, Mr. President, you are able to galvanise all our hearts and minds including in the North-East, South-South and South-East, to further strengthen our sense of shared identity, you would have truly done a great thing. The constitution empowers you, Mr. President, to establish other branches of the armed forces. Perhaps we need coast guards or special border patrol armies like the gendarmes in France to protect our porous land and sea borders without affecting the free flow of goods and services in the sub-region.

Public governance strategies are only as good as the financing available to bring them to life from paper. You know too well, Mr. President, that the strings of our national purse need to be firmly under your grip (up to 12 percent of our GDP or an estimated US$61 billion is believed to go unaccounted for every year in Nigeria). The economic security of our beloved country is better assured if sale proceeds from our natural resources are wisely invested in domestic and export agriculture, infrastructure, progressive urbanisation and services. It’s ok to borrow (not aid) as a country but we must pay back and quickly too. But before we go borrowing, we should explore our national balance sheet (which, unlike for the United States, does not appear to be available online) for idle assets that can be judiciously and quickly sold for cash in these dire economic times.         

Mr. President, we also want our leaders to lead with numbers because we achieve only what we can measure. A good place to start is to quickly harmonise and centralise a citizens’ database for effective, people-oriented decision making. We don’t need to start afresh. This newspaper rightly pointed out recently that a core database can be created by seizing upon what already exists in the private and public sector – telecoms companies, the Road Safety Corps, INEC, NIMC, etc. When fiscal and other government policies are based on quality, timely data, revenue forecasting and proactive assessment of impact of policy reforms are easier.   

Apart from power infrastructure, road deserves specific mention as it is still the major means of transportation in Nigeria. The better connected we are through great, well-maintained roads, the more prosperous we will be because we can move goods and people around quicker to do even more business amongst ourselves – our large internal market needs to be harnessed to its maximum. Strong road links between rural areas and regional trading towns are ample opportunity for rapid growth of farm and non-farm activities, offering higher income potential and diversification for rural and/or semi-urban dwellers. The Public Private Partnership (PPP) model is a great way to ramp up infrastructure investments but the process is slow, tedious and politically sensitive. To achieve quick-wins, it must be possible to procure road construction/rehabilitation services from the top three civil construction firms in Nigeria and allocate priority roads across our six zones to them for specific delivery within a set, short timeframe.

That more than 100 million in our midst are poor and miserable is itself a threat to our security and stability. Aristotle lends credence to how poverty and (re)distributive injustice can foster restlessness and its concomitants. Nigeria is one of the fastest urbanising countries in the world and the rural poor are under intense pressure and in search of limited opportunities in the urban cities. Crime is rampant, sporadic and ever more dangerous because criminals are for the most part despondent and disconnected from any positive social construct in Nigeria. The loving father of my friend’s wife was mindlessly killed in cold blood at a time preparations were then in full gear for their union – imagine the devastation! We are regularly mugged and violently attacked at different locations in different parts of the country including while in transit. Inspector General Arase is right about hiring Sadiq Daba-like (of the ‘October 1’ fame) men into the Nigeria Police. But it looks to me, and I may be wrong, that the current crop needs to be treated with more dignity and pride. Despite the difficult challenges of their working conditions, there are still police officer models worthy of emulation. There needs to be a radical reorientation, complete with enhanced remuneration, for the Nigeria Police. Every street and corner, no matter where, needs to feel safe and secure in the knowledge that our policemen have and will do all it takes to maintain security of lives and property for all.

There is a direct relationship between our level of human development and the inherent value of the Nigerian passport. We don’t want to have to carry multiple passports or permanent cards for different advanced countries or brave the sea journey of death all for socio-economic insurance. Nigeria can be enough for us and in this regard, Mr. President, 170 million people count on you and trust you to lead us forward. Take us forward, Mr. President, and all the very best, sir, while you’re at it!

Mayowa Amoo