My preferred next president of Nigeria, starting from May 29 2023, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu recently unveiled his manifesto, highlighting an eight-point agenda which I consider as a master roadmap to Nigeria’s next step toward development. In the document, he prioritized national action plans in security, economy, agriculture, power, oil and gas, transportation and education. Asiwaju Tinubu said his objective was to foster a new society based on shared prosperity, tolerance, compassion, and the unwavering commitment to treating each citizen with equal respect and due regard.
My target here is to situate the major promises of HE Asiwaju Tinubu with what he had already done as a Chief Executive, in order to elucidate his clear roadmap of Nigeria’s growth to prosperity.
JOB CREATION: Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu said that he wants to build a Nigeria, especially for the Nigeria youth, where sufficient jobs with decent wages create a better life. This is functional or gainful employment that matches with social empowerment of the citizenry. For Asiwaju, offering the youth gainful employment is not a rocket science application. As governor of Lagos state, he converted the dreadful Ita Oko prisoners’ camp into a youth skills acquisition centre. There was also a programme of women empowerment to enable women to cope with the harsh economic realities and make them become better individuals beyond housewives in their different families. More importantly, women were reoriented towards self-employment.
MANUFACTURING/PRODUCTION: He promised to manufacture, create, and invent more of the goods and services Nigerians require so that the country shall be known as a nation of creators, not just of consumers. Obviously, one of the major challenges militating against manufacturing and production in general is the epileptic power supply in the country. Lucky enough, Asiwaju had shown how power can be generated even in surplus. As Governor of Lagos state, he blazed the trail in the independent power project (IPP), which continually supplied 270 megawatts of electricity to the national grid. The project demonstrated the capacity of some states to generate electricity, if the power to legislate on it is on the concurrent list. Tinubu’s electrification project covered over 100 communities. In his first term, 53 rural communities were targeted. The projects were completed in Egan, Atewolere, Ifesowapo, Aboru, Agbado, Ayetoro, Akorede, Isheri Ikosi, Orile Aguntan, Rofo, Borokini, Omologbede, Araromi, Oke Agbo, Erekusu, Logberu, Okegelu and Ebute, Lekki. Others were Origanringan, Onigbolakowe, Oke odo Elemoro, Ipaja Isale Odo, Agenuba, Ajelogo, Mutaku, Egansando, Ayanfe, Topo and Ikola Agbenaje. With his target at production more than consumption, he hopes to achieve export of goods from Nigeria more and importation from outside the country. The ultimate benefit would be the strengthening of the naira and improvement in our way of life.
AGRICULTURE: In his presidential manifesto, Asiwaju talked about continued assistance to the ever-toiling farmers, through enlightened agricultural policy that promotes productivity and assures decent incomes, so that farmers can support their families and feed the nation. In a demonstration as Governor of Lagos state, he distributed agricultural inputs, worth several millions of naira, to small and medium scale farmers under the state Agricultural Micro-credit Scheme. Tinubu stated that his administration conceived the Agric Micro-credit Scheme in order to address difficulties being faced by farmers in procuring necessary inputs as well as lack of easy access to finance. Presently, he said that he will evolve a system and solutions that allows Nigerians to grow food all year round, if elected in 2023. While sympathizing with the 2022 flood victims across the country, Asiwaju said it was time Nigeria looked at agriculture differently.
INFRASTRUCTURE: Modernizing and expanding public infrastructure to grow the rest of the economy at an optimal rate is what Asiwaju has been used to doing. Asides from the many restructuring of different organs and sections his governorship administration achieved, it also pioneered novel initiatives in transportation, including the development of modern water transportation and the BRT system. LASTMA was established to ensure proper traffic management and deal with the problem of indiscipline on the road by drivers.
Asiwaju’s Administration was also one of the first to pursue Public-Private Partnership projects as a mechanism for infrastructure delivery against the backdrop of the inability of the public sector to solely fund the infrastructure needs of a modern Mega City. Perhaps the most far-reaching was the construction of the N44 billion Lekki-Epe Expressway and accompanying Coastal roads, which is the largest concessionairing project of its size and complexity in Africa. Several other projects delivered through PPP arrangements by the Administration include the rehabilitation of Bishop Kale Close on Victoria Island by Starcomms Limited; rehabilitation of Olakunle Bakare Street, Victoria Island by Vee Networks Limited; rehabilitation of part of Molade Okoya Thomas Street, Victoria Island by Zenith Bank; Construction of Access road to Beach Resort Estate, Victoria Island, by Beach Resort Nigeria Limited; rehabilitation of Orofin Street/Old Ojo road junction, Mazamaza, Amuwo-Odofin, by Intercontinental Bank Plc; rehabilitation of Oyin Jolayemi Street, Victoria Island, by a consortium of companies; powering and maintenance of street light on WEMPCO road, Ikeja, by WEMPCO group; rehabilitation of Adetokunbo Ademola Street as a partnership between Lagos State Government and Eko Hotels; rehabilitation of Danmole Street, Victoria Island by Intercontinental Bank Plc; provision, energizing and maintenance of street light on Ligali Ayorinde Street, Victoria Island, by Pan Ocean Oil Corporation; rehabilitation of Buraimoh Kenku Street, Victoria Island, by Liquefied Natural Gas Company (LNG) Ltd; re-development of Ajose Adeogun Street, Victoria Island, by Zenith Bank Plc and rehabilitation of Jimoh Odutola Street, Surulere, by Flour Mills.
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DIGITAL ECONOMY: His manifesto also contains plans to embolden and support Nigeria young people and women by harnessing emerging sectors such as the digital economy, entertainment and culture, tourism and others to build the Nigeria of tomorrow, today. Looking back at Asiwaju as Governor of Lagos state, the present Nollywood industry blossomed under his administration with provision conducive and enabling environments in areas such as in Surulere, Ikeja and other parts of Lagos state where the Nollywood artists commenced take-off of the now largest entertainment industry in Africa.
VULNERABLE POOR: Study found that 22.1 percent of Nigeria’s urban population is vulnerable to poverty while only 14.4 percent of the rural population is vulnerable. According to research, 20 percent of the Lagos population is vulnerable to poverty, and the intensity of economic deprivation in Lagos stands at 41.1 percent. Tinubu has however promised to break the shackle of poverty and destitution in Nigeria, train and give economic opportunity to the poorest and most vulnerable in Nigeria; Asiwaju said he seeks a Nigeria where no parent is compelled to send a child to bed hungry, worried whether tomorrow shall bring food. This is not alien in his character of feeding, giving scholarships and rehabilitating the vulnerable ones in the Nigeria society, despite tribe or religion. Lagos being a convergence for the very vulnerable, Asiwaju as Governor while on an assessment of the destruction wrecked on houses at Akesan community in Alimosho local government area in 2022 called for a review of the Federal Government’s Poverty Alleviation Programme (PAP) to ensure that it evolves from bottom to the top echelon of the society, and not the other way round. According to him, the poverty alleviation programme as it was designed is a tailor-made elitist one, which does not serve the interest of the poor. To bring home the idea of poverty alleviation, Asiwaji Tinubu constructed 6,000 housing units such as Abraham Adesanya Estate, Ajah, Ibeshe low income housing scheme, Oba Adeyinka Oyekan Estate, Lekki, Ayangburen Phase II, Ikorodu, Gbagada Medium Housing Scheme, Amuwo-Odofin Housing Scheme, Abraham Adesanya Estate, Phase II, Ojokoro Millennium Housing Scheme, Alaagba low income housing scheme as well as the Oke Eletu and Oko Oba low income housing schemes among others.
POWER: Conscious of the power problem in Nigeria, Asiwaju has promised to generate, transmit and distribute sufficient, affordable electricity to give Nigeria people the requisite power to enlighten their lives, their homes, and their very dreams. As earlier indicated, no one is better prepared to fix Nigeria’s power problem more than Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. In a pioneering feat in 2000, Tinubu partnered with AES Nigeria to build an Independent Power Plant to generate 270MW for Lagos residents. The power generated was consumed locally but later transmitted to the national grid due to some challenges in the operational framework in the energy sector. With a Tinubu Presidency in 2023, the new administration will continue his trail-blazing partnership and encourage active private sector involvement in the generation and distribution of electricity. Energy experts have revealed that with the required maintenance and monitoring, state electricity markets will undoubtedly influence an increase in GDP growth of 12 per cent.
HEALTHCARE/EDUCATION/HOUSING: He said he will make basic healthcare, education, and housing accessible and affordable for all. In Lagos state, Asiwaju made education feats too numerous to mention. In 1999 he commenced the era of reform, rehabilitation, rebuilding of the education sector in the state with a view to making public schools, especially at the primary level, attractive to the populace; repositioned the education sector through the creation of enabling environment and the continuation of the teacher training programs as well as improved the welfare package for teachers in the state. Prior to his assumption into the office of governor in Lagos State in 1999, he constituted a Transition Working Group to look into the health situation in the state.
Some of those which constitute a model list of achievements in Asiwaju’s dispensation in first quarter include: Control of HIV / AIDS primarily via the Lagos State AIDS Control Agency (LSACA); Roll Back Malaria Programme – Free Malaria treatment, distribution of ITNs; National Programme on Immunization; School health Programme; Control of Tuberculosis DOTS regimen and many more.
SECURITY: He also promised establish a bold and assertive policy that will create strong yet adaptive national security architecture and action to obliterate terror, kidnapping, banditry, and all other forms of violent extremism from the face of our nation. The story has been told many times about how he, Asiwaju, was able to tame the tide of insecurity when he became Lagos state governor at the peak of OPC troubles in Lagos, banditry and other violent crimes. He arrested the situations introducing the Rapid Response Team which has been copied by many states and federal governments till date.
The breakdown of the above manifesto is a true inspiration for a man who understands his time to break shackles and build a great Nigeria together.
Dr Onoh, a member of Asiwaju Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), was governorship aspirant of the PDP in Enugu State.
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