Who will be the next president of the most populous black nation on earth come 2023? No one knows, but there is a feeling that in 2023, a new leader will occupy the Villa. Will the forthcoming elections automatically change all that is negative with Nigeria?
It is not impossible but it all depends on the type of leaders that will emerge after the next general elections.
The list of presidential aspirants in the popular political parties – PDP and APC – is swelling. Gubernatorial aspirations are countless. But Nigeria is seriously in need of committed leaders at all levels of government.
For many years, one can hardly see a few committed leaders in the polity. And it is doubtful if Nigeria’s democracy of more than 20 years has groomed committed leaders with shared vision in quality and quantity to bring about the positive effect that we crave for in 2023. Honestly, we need committed leaders to rebuild Nigeria.
We were far more productive in 1980 than we are today. And it is because we are not productive that we have revenue challenges. In the 1980s Nigeria’s economy was rapidly growing because we were a net exporter of refined petroleum products
There is no doubt that Nigeria is a country endowed with enormous human and natural resources. Nigeria, the most populous country in sub-Saharan Africa, has produced the wealthiest black man and woman in the world. Nigeria is endowed with many men and women with cerebral aptitude.
Barely four decades ago, our exchange rate was: $1 = N0.8. Are you surprised? Please, do not be surprised. Why? We were far more productive in 1980 than we are today. And it is because we are not productive that we have revenue challenges.
In the 1980s Nigeria’s economy was rapidly growing because we were a net exporter of refined petroleum products. Today, we import all our refined petroleum products. The endeavour known as “fuel subsidy” is to gulp about N4 trillion in 2022 because we cannot refine our petroleum products. All government refineries are dead.
When we had all the characteristics of an emerging economy with potential for industrialization in early 1980s, we rode in locally assembled cars, buses and trucks. Peugeot cars in Kaduna and Volkswagen cars in Lagos.
Leyland produced trucks/buses in Ibadan and ANAMCO in Enugu also produced buses and trucks. Steyr in Bauchi produced our Agricultural tractors and military vehicles. It was not just Assembly, we were producing many of the spare parts.
Vono, a company in Lagos, produced the vehicle seats. While Exide in Ibadan produced the batteries, not just for Nigeria but for the entire West Africa. Some firms in Ibadan produced the windshields, brake pads and discs.
Dunlop produced Tyres in Lagos and Mitchelin Tyres were produced in Port Harcourt. The raw materials needed to produce most of these tyres were from rubber plantations located in Ogun, Bendel and Rivers states.
We were listening to Radio and watching television sets assembled in Ibadan by Sanyo. We were using refrigerators, freezers and Airconditioners assembled and produced by Thermocool and Debo Electrical.
Most Nigerians were putting on clothes produced from textile Mills in Kaduna and other parts of Nigeria. Then most fabrics were not from imported cotton but from cotton grown in Nigeria. Most of the textile mills have been shutdown as a result of poor electricity supply.
Our water was running through pipes produced by Kwalipipe in Kano and Duraplast in Lagos. Most of the water closets in bathrooms and restrooms were produced locally. Our electricity was flowing through cables produced by the Nigerian Wire and Cable, Ibadan; NOCACO in Kaduna and Kablemetal in Lagos and Port Harcourt.
We had Bata and Lennards Stores producing the shoes we were putting on. The shoes were not from imported leather but from locally tanned leather in Kaduna.
We were mainly flying our Airways, (the Nigeria Airways), to most places in the world. Nigerian National Shipping Line had many merchant ships involved in maritime trade. These ships are no more.
The Nigerian Airways was about the biggest in Africa at the time. Most of the foods we ate were grown or produced in Nigeria. Suddenly most of these firms closed down either due to mismanagement or policy inconsistencies of various governments over time. Nigeria got to a point in history when citizens imported almost everything including toothpicks. Isn’t this alarming?
As we write this article, Nigeria’s talented and brilliant youths who should be involved in nation-building are rapidly escaping to other nations where it’s not stressful to make a living. Do we care? It seems that those in authority do not bother much.
Today, the country cannot feed her poor citizens and keep her people safe. A lot of funds have been committed to ensuring that there is constant electricity power supply and security.
The security we have not been able to provide while it is difficult to sustain power supply to households and factories. The government has improved the railway system through borrowed funds. But the Abuja- Kaduna bound train was attacked. Public education from the primary to the tertiary levels need complete overhaul.
In the face of these numerous challenges, committed leaders are scarce. All we can see is a gale of political defection by politicians. We see some politicians display political grandstanding.
No meaningful debate about how to create wealth and change the negative narrative of the country. All we hear daily is that political parties are interested in consensus candidacy. We have not been told by most politicians how they are going to open doors of opportunities for millions of our youths that are jobless.
Committed leadership is the only prescription for change. We strongly believe that committed leaders have a continual passion for a difference in the lives of the citizens through good governance.
Have you seen a committed leader before? A committed leader will have good attitude with a vision on how to turn things around in the positive direction and must be able to walk the talk. The “change” that we voted for in 2015 has been assessed by many analysts as “barely average” because of security and economic challenges we face today.
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This article is not to castigate any political office holder neither is it to crucify any politician. It is to remind our politicians that the next general elections should be an opportunity for us to refit the country and rejig almost every component of our national life that is below the mark. Is it our constitution?
We need to have a constitution that reflects the wishes and aspirations of the people with our diversity. The attitude of the ruled have to be recalibrated for wealth creation and economic development.
If we do not address squarely all those flawed fundamentals that have brought the nation on its knees, and why investors – local and foreign- not investing sufficiently in the economy, then the struggle continues. We must find ways and means to reduce the rate at which Nigerian professionals are scurrying away from the country.
Otherwise, the preparations for the next elections in 2023 are not likely to yield positive results. We will still waste our precious time debating issues of hunger, poverty, insecurity, national grid collapse, kidnappings and other ills that do not bring prosperity to the citizens. Those aspiring for elective positions in 2023 should tell Nigerians what they have got to offer. Thank you.
