BY OLUGBENGA LEKE OYEWOLE, ex- Senior Special Assistant on Maritime Services to former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan
During the last One-On-One opportunity I had with President Goodluck Jonathan as his Senior Special Assistant on Maritime Services, he said: ‘If the opportunity arises for you to work withthe incoming Administration, I want you to work with them’. I replied: ‘I respect Gen Buhari as anelder statesman but, my loyalty remains with you’. Angry, he stood up and shouted at me: ‘Weare talking about Nigeria here! The discussion ended.
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, our President-Elect, please let us talk about Nigeria here. Youhave all that you need as the President of Nigeria to do all that Nigerians want from aresponsible government. And, I will like to remain within the economy, security, and anti-corruption agenda but, in a sincere format:Economy.
Your Excellency, please shop now for six (6) visionary Nigerians with impeccable charactersfrom the six geo-political zones as Presidential Liaison Officers for the zones. It should be partof the responsibility of your Transition Committee to design their roles and responsibilities.These roles should revolve around the strengths of each geo-political zone and how the zonescan contribute maximally to the well-being of its residents as well as the overall development ofNigeria. For example, the South-South can be saddled with the immediate establishment of six(6) Nano-Refineries with 25,000 barrel refining capacity each per day. The money needed to dothis is about $800m.
The government is currently contemplating sharing $800m with somefamilies as palliative against subsidy removal, please beg them to keep this money for a moremeaningful purpose.Similarly, the Northern zones can be stimulated by solid mineral resources. Zinc, Lithium,Copper, Cadmium, and Lead are basic requirements of battery production. Refineries for thesesolid minerals and battery production plants can be set up across the North to meet nationalalternative energy requirements and the emerging global electric car battery demands. Gold andother precious metals are also in abundance in Nigeria, but past governments have not beensensitive to this sector.
All Local Governments should be compelled to acquire a minimum of 50,000ha for diverse farmproduce, the entire Sambisa forest could be a big national farm and not a terrorist hideout. Letthe South-West ensure that raw Cocoa is never exported again but Chocolate pastes, Cassavamust be exported as starch for the pharmaceutical industries, and there should be a valuableaddition to all exports from Nigeria to create jobs and increase foreign earnings as a matter ofnational policy. Hides and Skin industry, Bitumen, Palm Oil, Iron Ore, Coal, etc are availableendowments to Nigeria amongst others resources.
The Presidential Liaison officers must be cued and given timelines to deliver on the assignedtasks. The states and the regions should be allowed to use a large percentage of their earningsfor local developments. Federal Ministries of Agriculture, Solid Mineral, Transportation, WaterResources, etc can all dissolve to the states and the regions to lighten the center. This is a sureway to stimulate healthy regional economic competition, increase foreign earnings, crash theDollar – Naira disparity, lower the cost of commodities, and guarantee food security.
Security
The security challenge is a global concern but much can be done to improve the way we handleit in Nigeria. An American was kidnapped, America came to rescue their own, Boko Harammembers were kept in prisons, and the outlaws have freed their members from our prisons atseveral locations; the government can do much more to rescue Nigerians in captivity andprevent its recurrence. We need to improve our data acquisition system and its availability foruse by relevant agencies.
Interagency collaboration and intelligence gathering should beimproved tremendously. We all can witness the use of satellites and geospatial intelligence tosupport military operations in Ukraine, Nigeria can do the same with a fraction of the money weexpend toiling blindly today. Not too many wanted criminals have escaped for too long inadvanced countries. All principal actors in the Jan 6 insurrection in the US have been arrested.We can achieve the same feat in Nigeria by using appropriate technologies and fosteringadequate interagency collaboration.
Sir, political concessions and compromises should neverextend to national security.Anti-Corruption DriveThe only known reliable anti-corruption tactic is the deployment of technology and automation ofprocedures and processes. Harassment, intimidation, waste of Court’s valuable time, andresources to prosecute corrupt officers should be minimized.
Your Excellency should considerautomating the entire civil service, procurement processes, and electioneering system tobecome a Champion President. We must have identification numbers, as Nigerians, that properly tell who we are; Nigerians in the diaspora should be able to vote, payments due into the Federation Account should truly be validated by systems in place, oil theft should become a thing of the past, maritime activities and landings at our ports should be detailed on autonomous platforms for appropriate Dues, Charges, Levies, to the maritime agencies, etc.
Your Excellency Sir, please take cognizance of the fact that you do not need any special
legislation to do many of the things above and they are enough to endear you to the people andwin you an International recognition. Kindly recall sir, the people that said no to your election are more than those that voted for you. But when God chooses a King, he commits his opponents toserial irremediable mistakes.
Congratulations on your victory sir, I wish you a successful tenure, long live Nigeria!
