Business Post Contributor
By Jerome-Mario Chijioke Utomi
Dear Mr President,
I trust this letter finds you well.
It remains a familiar narrative that the Saturday, February 25, presidential election organized by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) affirmed you as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Further eliciting congratulations on your success is the awareness that all the litigations/and related concerns arising from the electoral exercise have been resolved in your favour.
In line with this victory, you are presently faced with the task of delivering Nigeria and Nigerians from the snare of dangerous political and socio-economic challenges. As part of that effort, Nigerians have in the past five months of your leadership observed some orchestrated political and socioeconomic policies presumably geared toward improving the life chances of Nigerians and placing the nation on the right political and socioeconomic pedestal.
Some of these policies/reforms include but are not limited to; first, scrapping the fuel subsidy regime, a governmental economic policy which your administration argued benefited only a few so-called elites. Two, assent to the electricity bill, which authorizes states, companies and individuals to generate, transmit and distribute electricity- the new electricity law repeals the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA) which was signed by President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2005. Third, the introduction of student loans, an initiative which according to you, will commence in January 2024, among others.
Interestingly, while this piece cannot categorically say that you were right or wrong in formulating these policies and reforms, on the other hand, present instinct, particularly the economic hardship in the country which Nigerians stoically endures, explains two things; first, jeers have since overtaken the cheers of political support hitherto enjoyed while fears have displaced reason -resulting in an entirely separate set of consequences – irrational hatred and division.
Secondly, while some now doubt the direction of your administration’s economic policy, which you claimed during the campaign that we focus on lifting impediments to a friendly business climate, revenue generation, elimination of multiple taxation, monetary policy reforms, ease of doing business, growth of the economy, others are particularly worried and have queried the possibility of the present Federal Government completing the process of political and socioeconomic rejuvenation of the country which the nation has spent far too long a time to do.
These are nonpolitical issues but moral concerns aimed at the survival of our republic. It is a serious scrutiny that in the interim calls for more work and more reforms on the part of the Federal Government.
Despite this great disappointment and frustration by Nigerians, this piece believes and still believes that the solution to the present hydra-headed economic challenges is overwhelmingly embedded in your campaign promises. In fact, the nation Nigeria can surmount its present challenge as well as make appreciable advancement under your leadership if you religiously and vigorously, as promised, adhere to the content of your manifesto/renewed hope mantra shared with Nigerians during electioneering.
Among the basket of promises made to Nigerians, there is an urgent need to remember that you promised to improve security by decentralizing the policing of the country and creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs simultaneously. You promised to transform Nigeria into an enviable country and one where there will be justice, peace and prosperity for all, with a “robust economy”.
You accepted to achieve in the country “a vibrant and thriving democracy and a prosperous nation with a fast-growing industrial base, capable of producing the most basic needs of the people and exporting to other countries of the world, a country with a robust economy, where prosperity is broadly shared by all irrespective of class, region, and religion. “A nation where its people enjoy all the basic needs, including a safe and secure environment, abundant food, affordable shelter, health care, and quality primary education for all. “A nation founded on justice, peace, and prosperity for all.”
On the nation’s economy, you agreed to build an economy that will make the nation’s Gross Development Product (GDP) grow quicker annually for the next four years while also providing jobs for millions of youths in the country. You promised Nigerians that your administration would build a new National Industrial Policy focused on special intervention to reinvigorate specific strategic industries. “I will focus on stimulating jobs, which will be my top priority as President. I will get Nigeria to work by launching a major public works programme, a significant and heavy investment in infrastructure, and value-adding manufacturing and agriculture”.
You also said that your administration will build an efficient, fast-growing, and well-diversified emerging economy with a real GDP growth averaging 12 per cent annually for the next four years, translating into millions of new jobs during this period, and in a related development promised to create six new Regional Economic Development Agencies, which will establish sub-regional industrial hubs to exploit each zone’s competitive advantage and optimize their potential for industrial growth.
You pledged to formulate a new National Policy on Agriculture to boost food production while promoting the establishment of new commodity exchange boards, strengthening the one in Lagos to guarantee minimum pricing for agricultural products such as cotton, cocoa, rice, soya beans, corn, palm kernel, and groundnuts.
On infrastructure, you promised to “Build A New Nigeria (BANN)” by developing a National Infrastructure plan, which will cover strategic roads, bridges, rail, water, power, seaports and airports spanning the length and breadth of the country, noting that your administration would combine government funding, borrowing, public-private partnership, private sector financing and concession to initiate a medium and long-term financial model for the BANN initiative.
You stated that your administration would target an electricity distribution goal of 15,000 megawatts across the country and ensure a sustainable 24/7 supply. “I will embark on a renewed action-oriented focus and take immediate and urgent action on resolving existing challenges of power generation plants, gas purchasing, pricing, transmission, and distribution. My administration’s critical goal is to have 15,000 megawatts distributable to all categories of consumers nationwide to ensure 24/7 sustainable supply within the next four years”.
In the oil and gas sector, you said there would be no need for a subsidy because the market will be open and transparent, that Supply will come from local refineries, and the forces of demand and supply will determine the price of petroleum products. “My administration will establish a National Strategic Reserve for Petroleum Products to stabilize supply during unexpected shortages or surplus periods. This will eliminate any form of product shortages and prevent wild swings in prices.”
You promised to continue the free school feeding programme of the APC, feeding “millions of primary school children across the country, promising to increase the spending on education to 25 per cent of the nation’s budget.
Talking about tertiary education, you said that your administration would eradicate strikes by tertiary institution workers by encouraging the tertiary institutions to source funds through grants and corporate sponsorships, with all the institutions granted financial autonomy.
Just like education, you also assured to increase the funding for health care in the annual budget to 10 per cent. According to him, the National Health Insurance Scheme would be relaunched to grant health insurance coverage to most Nigerians.
Most importantly, whereas you have so far demonstrated balance and transparency in your appointments into public offices, there is however, the need to predicate as promised, all future appointments on the provisions of Paragraph 8(1)(b) of Part 1 of the third schedule of the 1999 constitution, which among other provisions, clearly stipulates that the Federal Character Commission must ensure the equitable distribution of all appointments and positions at the federal levels among the federating units.
Finally, as humans, it is sometimes convenient to forget and uncomfortable to remember, of which you are not an exception. It is equally a time-honoured belief that forgetting is perhaps one of the greatest gifts of nature. But under the present circumstance and political temperature in the country, you must design and catalyse a thought process that considers the virtue of remembrance as an invaluable asset.
As an incentive, if your administration can accomplish the promises made to Nigerians, it will be your most powerful accomplishment for earning new respect and emulation.
God bless Nigeria!!!
Utomi is the Program Coordinator (Media and Politics) Advocacy for Social and Economic Justice (SEJA), Lagos. He can be reached via 08032725374
