The Insight by Lateef Adewole
“I can tell you for sure, I never knew that our entire healthcare infrastructure was in the state in which it is until I was appointed to do this work.” – Boss Mustapha (SGF)
It is very interesting to see the kind of conversations that the menace of Covid-19 have been generating. The situation has further exposed the in capability of our country to take care of her citizens in the time of emergency. What the people are still battling with is economic in nature: hunger. Let us fervently pray we should never have to deal with the health challenges of the virus beyond what we already have, as is currently applicable in other very advanced countries. Otherwise, that would be a disaster!
It has also put on the front burner, the question about the capacities of our political leaders to solve our problems as a country. This might have been what prompted a friend who asked that I do a detailed write-up on the possible solutions to our problems, with a promise to deliver the same to the appropriate quarters where they would be implemented. I was quite humbled with his request. However, my immediate response was that, he, as a Nigerian, knows as I know, that whatever solutions or recommendations I might come up with, will never be acted upon by our political leaders.
I reminded him of the many articles I have written previously, most of which addressed different issues of national concerns and at the end of each, I proffered solutions and made recommendations.
The truth of the matter is, all the solutions to our problems have already been proffered by different people or even committees of government at different times. So, if anyone claims to have a novel remedy to what ails us, such a person is just on a journey of self conceit. Our problems are not dearth of solutions but leadership.
I also agree to a large extent to the cliché that people deserve the leadership they get. However, I believe that a leader with requisite capacity, with sincerity of purpose and enough political will, who is disciplined enough to make necessary sacrifices, can turn around this country. That is the panacea to most of our problems. Such a leader would inspire the citizens to rise up to the occasion since he or she will be leading by example, and not the types we have, who preach one thing but do another.
A cursory look at our history will buttress my assertion. When it comes to all that has bedevilled us, we have all our home grown solutions and recommendations in various reports which are either gathering dust on the shelves or gone into oblivion after being dumped in the archives. Our leaders are not sincere enough, do not have the political will, aren’t disciplined to make the required sacrifices for a better and greater Nigeria. It has always been about self, clan or ethnic interests.
The most fundamental challenge facing the country is the current political structure. It is not working. And unfortunately, it is inhibiting the progress of the country as an entity. Few people or some groups of people might be benefitting from such abnormality. This issue among many others were addressed during the 2014 National Conference. In the report submitted at that time, majority of the fundamental problems facing Nigeria were addressed. It was a product of robust debates, discussions, compromises, sacrifices, and concessions, to arrive at some consensus.
But what happened afterwards? Even the former President Jonathan who convened the conference became lukewarm after the report was submitted to him. He began to foot drag on the implementation of many of its contents which do not require constitutional amendments or the concurrence of other arms. Why was that? Because, he was worried about his reelection in 2015 and did not want to rock the boat. At the end, he still lost that election.
The current leadership in the country were in the opposition then and did not want anything to do with it. So, it was convenient to have thrown it away by President Buhari. They do not want to touch it with a 100 meter pole. They preferred to throw away the baby with the birth water. Self and party interests are more important than national interest. But, have they fared better?
One aspect of national life that I consider most critical is choosing our leaders. Since we are in a “democracy”, so to speak, elections through the ballots remain the route. In a messed up electoral process, what kind of products do we expect from it? When any reform is needed in our electoral system, the report of Justice Muhammed Uwais Committee on Electoral Reform is a reference point. But, was it ever implemented? No!
A modest effort by the Jonathan administration improved the system sufficiently to the extent he himself lost his reelection, an opposition candidate and party defeated an incumbent president and the ruling party. It was unprecedented. Since then, where have we progressed to? All those gains have largely been reversed. We are back to the era of political brigandage, thuggery, ballot snatching, political assassinations, massive rigging, ballot stuffing, and the rest. Elections have become “do or die” like we had during the Obasanjo government. These are things we had respite from during Jonathan administration.
The 8th assembly attempted to improve on what they inherited from the previous government but it was truncated by the president who refused to sign the electoral amendments into law on four occasions, premised on baseless, flimsy excuses, just because his reelection ambition was on the line in 2019. We hope that now that he has his second term, he will be patriotic and courageous enough to sign any subsequent amendment. NASS should do the needful.
What about the petroleum sector? The insincerity of leaders up to date has kept the sector riddled with corruption. The Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) which was sent to NASS since 2001 never saw the light of the day. How can a country, whose mainstay is crude oil, condone mismanagement in such critical sector for this long? No one has been able to act because, it remains the source of illicit funds to finance the interests of individuals in power, as well as their parties. So, the will to do the right thing was and is never there. The same 8th assembly split it to make it more “friendly” and easily passable. We had Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB) as a part which was passed in the senate in 2017 and representatives in 2018 but as usual at that time, the president refused to sign it into law. Where is the sincerity? Where is the political will?
Roadmap to Power Sector Reform was introduced in the quest to transform the power sector, another one which has remained comatose for so long and refused rise up. It has supplied more darkness to the citizens than light. That document, as flawed as some may claim it to be, was able to channel government’s efforts at breaking the jinx of power monopoly in Nigeria, a feat never possible for decades. It was privatised. There are many issues that came up which constitute encumbrance to the expected progress in that sector.
However, rather than revisit the issue, look at the problematic areas, look for way out and continue in the reforms, the present administration used the first four years to blame the past governments. Nothing much was achieved. We are still moving in circles after seven years post privatisation. Where is the will and courage to do the best and the right thing for national interest?
The federal government in particular has remained unwieldy. The size of government has become unmanageable, leading to redundancy, leakages, inefficiency, and wastages in the civil service. Many solutions to this problem can be found in the report of Oransaye’s Presidential Committee on Reform of Government Agencies (2014). It made far reaching recommendations to cut wastes in the federal civil service. Was it ever implemented? No! So, where is the will?
Education sector case in heartbreaking. Schools are shadows of their previous selves. The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and other unions in that sector go on strikes like it is going out of fashion. They do so as the last resort when the government does nothing about their agitations. Since 2009, government after government kept signing agreements with ASUU and making promises, most or all of which were never fulfilled. There is a strike currently going on now, though, Covid-19 has overshadowed it.
The most painful part is that, most of the people who destroyed or are destroying the educational sector were/are people who benefited from its past glory. Why should the people in political authority be bothered when they have their children schooling abroad, or worse still, in the top private schools in Nigeria? Didn’t a former President and his vice establish universities in this same Nigeria, which were beyond the means of ordinary citizens, while the public ones remained in ruins while they were in charge? Where is the sincerity?
If not for the rampaging virus which has put all our leaders in government on their toes, as they are also entrapped, will the kind of money now being spent on “knee jack” approaches ever have happened? Unimaginable amounts are now being approved and spent on the health sector, which has become dilapidated for decades as evidenced in Boss Mustapha’s quote at the beginning of this article. Thanks to Covid-19. If not for the worse situations abroad, all of them would have run away and abandoned the citizens to their fate. United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Saudi Arabia, and so on, have become “no go” areas for them to treat headaches, earaches, shocks, etc. What a shame. We are lucky to still have very low level of infections (as reported).
Concerning the economy, the number of economic reform programmes cannot be counted. Austerity Measures of 1984, Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) of 1986, MANSER (1987), VISION 2010 (1996), NEEDS (2003), VISION 20:2020 (2011), the current administration’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of 2017. All these were economic programmes aimed at turning around the fortunes of Nigeria and her citizens. But, what did we get? More woes. This is because, the leadership who proposed them were never sincere, did not have the will to drive them through. Many of them are more indisciplined than the followers when it comes to making personal sacrifices. How then can profligate leaders inspire austere populace?
Our leaders live in opulence, pay themselves criminally fat remunerations, buy very expensive cars, while the national revenues are still dwindling and national debt rising. They would rather borrow to maintain such lifestyles than cut on their personal luxurious emoluments. They can never make sacrifices for the country. A peep into the annual ritual called budgets will reveal incredible wastages on the parts of the legislative arm and also in the executive, given that they control over 90 percent of the budgets. But, they still preach that the citizens should make sacrifices. What evil! It is worse at state levels.
Therefore, what exactly is needed to change this country for better? As I mentioned earlier, they are; capacity of the leader, sincerity of purpose, self discipline that will be infectious and readiness to make sacrifices, including personal. If we have leaders who possess these qualities, we are good to go. In no time, we will see massive turnarounds in our national life.
This has informed the wish of some of us that if something, not threat to lives and productivity like Covid-19, can happen that will keep all of us on ground, in the country as we have now for the past weeks, such that no one can leave the country for about five to ten years, no matter how highly placed, whether politician, civil servant, businessmen and women, and all that can enter Nigeria are manufacturing equipment which cannot be produced locally to enhance production and raw materials that may be unavailable locally. No finished goods should be allowed in. We should all consume what we produce and produce what we consume.
I have no doubt that Nigeria will emerge a global power within the ten years. This is because, everybody’s child will go to school in Nigeria, so, they will fix the schools. Everyone will get their medical helps in Nigeria, hence they will upgrade the hospitals. The roads will be fixed by force as they will need to use them regularly. Power will improve as they need it. Security will be reorganised as they will be concerned about their safety. All our infrastructures will become topnotch in no time since they will use them with the rest of the people. We will have our dream country.
But, who could do this? Only nature as we have it now but this is affecting productivity. Therefore, one cannot wish it remains. All solutions to our problems are already in existence except right leadership. There are still people with such characters highlighted earlier in Nigeria. We must find them, support them, and put them in leadership of our country. Or are we going to continue like this forever?
May God continue to protect us and guide us aright.
God Bless Nigeria.
Lateef Adewole is a political analyst and social commentator can be reached by email lateefadewole23@gmail.com or via WhatsApp +2348020989095 and @lateef_adewole on Twitter
