Category: Opinion

President Muhammadu Buhari, who was recently sworn in as an elected leader of Africa’s most populous nation, ended his last public assignment 16 years ago, when he voluntarily resigned as chairman of the Petroleum (Special) Trust Fund (PTF), on the eve of the take-off of the Fourth Republic with the handover of power by the last military regime of Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar. Those who, therefore, measure Buhari solely by his tour of political duty as military head of state in 1983-85 often miss out on some critical lessons that Buhari most probably learnt during and after his PTF years.

The Nigerian elite were vociferous in calling for the dismantling of the PTF, branding it a parallel government, and arguing that line ministries should be funded with the PTF resources, to deliver on their statutory mandates. Perceptible persons who had gauged the results of PTF urged caution in the hysterical demands to jettison the interventionist agency. Rather than discard PTF, a creature of the late Gen. Sani Abacha, more sober voices urged the civilian administration of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, which was then to assume power in 1999, not to discard PTF, but instead reduce its scope of intervention to infrastructure delivery. In the end, PTF was wound up, not without controversy among some of its undertakers, but the Federal Emergency Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), which emerged much later, was neither in a position to deliver on roads nor even to be anywhere near what PTF had achieved.

The one obvious lesson from the foregoing is: do not cut your nose to spite your face. Buhari has come into office now on the mantra of change. But he can be certain that the campaign rhetoric, which permitted the unrestrained and unrelenting castigation of the administration of erstwhile President Goodluck Jonathan, does not, and should not imply, that everything, or even most things, done by the Jonathan government must be changed. It appears to me that Buhari’s best bet is to adopt a philosophical disposition that flows naturally from his public acknowledgement of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s rightful place in Nigeria’s political history.

Former President Jonathan’s good deeds do not reside alone in his patriotic and selfless management of the electoral reforms that have brought about a new dawn in our polity. In several other spheres of our national life, the Jonathan administration had begun, or completed programmes, policies, and projects with positive consequences that many choose to forget, having been bombarded with the negative election propaganda by what was then the opposition party. This is why President Buhari should carefully, and on his own (not by assignment to even his trusted aides), study the handover notes given to him by his predecessor. In the notes, Buhari will find a succinct statement of the state of the nation.

Although the handover notes cover the Jonathan Presidency, they in fact encapsulate the country’s governance experience since 1999. The notes contain the goals and efforts, the mistakes and remedies, the successes and challenges, as well as tips and hints on an agenda for the future. The notes, therefore, roll into one the Obasanjo, Yar’Adua, and Jonathan administrations. In studying the succinct handover notes, President Buhari will discover that there is no point reinventing the wheel. Governments spend so much time trying to carve an identity for themselves, they lose time and goodwill in the process, and leave undone an array of projects and programmes.

President Buhari will discover that the handover notes deal with the areas which he says will engage the attention of his administration: anti-corruption, unemployment, insecurity, and the economy at large. To achieve speedier and more enduring results, President Buhari will find wisdom in taking his bearing from where his predecessor left off. For instance, you cannot pursue employment generation through agriculture and seek to ignore the gains and roadmap set by the preceding administration, nor can you ignore the goal of food security so relentlessly pursued in the last few years. Can you fix the economy and create more jobs without industrialisation? Check out the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan of the Jonathan years. Can you drive the economy without investment in infrastructure? Check out what had been achieved in road, rail, and aviation – not just in terms of projects, but essentially the legal and policy frameworks.

The Jonathan administration had also achieved milestones in the power sector. If Buhari were to start afresh, by abandoning what went on before, he would superintend the building of so many new power plants, work out ownership arrangements, and indeed restructure the power sector. How many years does he have? And can he afford the political cost (of continuing darkness) while he tries out his own brand new game plan? Even in the petroleum subsector, which has attracted the most negative comments about the immediate past administration, President Buhari will find that there were also new frontiers, and that he does not need to throw out the baby with the bath water, no matter how odiferous the water is.

But, why did I advise that Buhari should personally study the succinct handover notes, rather than by proxy? It is probably the best armour he has, as well as the best source of his bearing that will enable him focus on the areas he has isolated to tackle frontally during his years in office. Make no mistake; President Buhari will be bombarded with all kinds of ideas, proposals, and suggestions – and these are by persons who are outsiders pretending to know more than the insiders. These may also be persons who lost out in earlier schemes and are desirous of getting into the new groove. Some will advise President Buhari to jettison what went on before, and present him with new templates that are either conflictual or would amount to reinventing the wheel. If Jonathan had been re-elected, a good many of such proposals would have been untenable.

However, by arming himself with knowledge from the handover notes, President Buhari will be better positioned to interrogate some of the proposals he will definitely be bombarded with. It will also help Buhari if he creates a back channel of communication with whoever served in the previous administration, to help explain, clarify, or put in perspective any matter arising from the past and especially as the new influence peddlers sneak in to the President to sell their ideas.

Already, some irredentists are urging President Buhari to disregard the National Conference Report and Recommendations. But in this poor advice, none has articulated any position that the report and recommendations were self-serving for former President Jonathan, who convened the conference and was widely applauded by the conference leaders and participants that he did not interfere with the proceedings or outcome of the Conference. The 2014 National Conference was by far more eagerly attended, and by first-elevens, than the Political Reform Conference of President Obasanjo in 2005, which collapsed upon rejection of the third term bid. Nor was the 2014 National Conference anything like the 1994-95 Constitutional Conference organised by the military regime of Gen. Abacha.

Buhari does not need to organise another conference, nor should he ignore the outcome of the 2014 National Conference.

• Prof. Azaiki is chairman, National Think Tank.

We are all glad that the power-to-power political transition has been safely completed without bloodshed or terror unleashed, and we can now settle down to rebuild our life-giving institutions with hope and purpose. We, as good citizens, are obligated to call attention of the new people in power and submit advice on where to direct their fresh powers in such a manner that will benefit the vast majority of the Nigerian people.

When we say a government accords an “industry” status to loosely connected groups of people identifiable by one broad profession, we mean that the government actually ‘means’ business. It recognises the vital importance of that profession to the development of the economy and the stability of the nation. It understands that such a profession can add value to the system by exporting, in massive consignments, its products, general merchandise, services, culture, traditions, tourism destinations, and countless distinctly Nigerian items, articles and paraphernalia, through scenic representations in our movies which become handy worldwide. Such a government desires that national artefacts like the crest, flag, stamps, buildings, games, protocols, etc are seen, recognised and patronised all across the world. Such a government appreciates that dominating Africa economically and politically is underlined by a vibrant, adept and professional motion pictures (and similar entertainment products) which are the sure and deliberate steps before ‘conquering’ the world. Therefore, such a government will seek means and measures to protect and nurture the new “industry” – by spearheading the building of physical and intellectual structures; designing and drafting pragmatic, comprehensive laws and regulations to midwife and safeguard the operations and procedures of the industry. So, to build a world-class country and man-power, the world must first see the class and carriage of her visions and dreams via the windows of her arts and culture – her enduring civilisation!

Once upon a time it was fashionable for government officials to throw force and power at the restiveness and criminality in the Niger Delta. When that didn’t work, they started throwing money at it: cash-for-gun, bounties on wanted notorious warlords, etc. It later dawned on the powers-that-be the obvious weaknesses of those strategies. They realised the sane and result-oriented way was to deal with age-long infrastructural deficiencies and assuage developmental iniquities of past vagabond governments. And that brought the omnibus NDDC (Niger Delta Development Commission) in 2000 by the troublesome Chief Olusegun Obasanjo government.

We are not here to review the efficacy of NDDC, but is it any wonder that modest peace and some sort of order have pervaded the region since the policy mindset was persuaded by the Umaru Yar’Adua administration to offer carrot-and-stick approach (obviously more carrots than stick); and even quieter still since 2008 when he conjured a Niger-Delta Ministry with NDDC as a major parastatal?

It does not take much brain-work to know that the issues the core-objectives of NDDC/Niger-Delta Ministry confronted are also staring at us in the creative community of Nigeria. Here is a short list:  Resource Control. Environmental Degradation. Pollution. Unemployable Restive Youth. Proliferation of Ammunition. For all these Niger Delta “devils”, their creative equivalences are: Dearth of Resources. Economic Degradation. Piracy. Unemployable Restless Youth. Proliferation of Unimagination. And more of course.

With the strides of ex-president Goodluck Jonathan in his beloved Nollywood, the Buhari government has a surly but eager community (however sharply divided and suspicious). The larger creative communities have long-standing capacity for supportive and eager collaboration with any government policies geared towards elevating the prospects of their art forms. Unlike Jonathan that threw money at Nollywood in an attempt to palliate highlighted inadequacies (professional training, seed capital for shooting projects, erecting cinema houses, etc), let President Buhari go round the current funding nets and mop up outstanding capitals from Bank of Industry, NEXIM and such financial initiatives still lying fallow. A N3billion pledge was made in March 2013 by the Jonathan government for “the development of the film industry”, and whatever remained of the N200m loan scheme of 2010. With remnants of these schemes and other the aggregated funds/grants, a fresh input and dedicated liaisons with art-loving nations and foundations worldwide, we should have enough stimulus to legislate into being the Nigerian Entertainment Development Commission, NEDC.

Look into the archives, there have been many papers and colloquy on this sort of issue; so drawing up a draft bill should be a swing. The objectives of the NEDC are direct and actionable: To protect, promote, preserve and permit activities, regulations, practices and procedures that shall produce and provide conducive conditions for the attainment of high productivity, excellence in production standards, training and development; To act as arrowhead and driving force in the capitalization and establishment of critical infrastructures; and the mobilisation of corporate financial institutions towards deepening and expanding professionalism and investment super-highways; To encourage and stimulate the positive, clear-sighted promotion and preservation of our sundry cultural and traditional mores, diverse lifestyles and customs, etc. In the pursuit of the foregoing, to activate a strong sense of patriotism and deep appreciation of the potentials of our inherent diversity – in culture, practices and customs – and its sensitive and responsible presentation to the larger world.

Some of the major organs of the NEDC shall include the following: A new National Copyright Administration (the NCC Act shall be amended to subsume this effete body under the NEDC) will act as the intellectual, orientational, documentation and informational arm of the NEDC, especially in the critical forth-coming anti-piracy war.

War Against Piracy (WAP) unit (with adequate and well-remunerated enforcement and prosecutorial personnel and competences). The crack-force units of armed forces, police and paramilitary corps shall be in action across the states/LGs/major urban centres (like a “Piracy Police”). The units shall include lawyers proficient in criminal litigation of intellectual property infringers; PR/Information officers (reverse propaganda is essential), etc. We have to win the war on piracy, as the statistics is worse than distressing – a recent international media report blatantly revealed on this scourge that “Nigeria accounts for 80% of internationally pirated music CDs!

A corollary of the above is the establishment of counterpart judicial units – for example, the much vaunted Special Tribunals in every geopolitical sub-zone (senatorial district). A spin-off from that is the urgent need to review the Copyright Act where punishments are now outdated and are no longer commensurate to the gravity of criminality. As we speak, punitive fines range from N10,000 to N100,000 for individual infringers – and N50,000 to N500,000 for “body corporate”! The longest jail time is 12 months… with that sort of kid-glove knocks, it is no wonder piracy is quite lucrative here.

Another critical arm of the NEDC is the Arts Endowment Fund. This is what gives the commission its spunk as a semi-autonomous body with inherent abilities to access funds and grants all over the world; and a well-designed accountable system of supporting, funding, subventing and generally provoking creative or artistic excellence in productions, trainings, festivals, exhibitions, concerts, scholarship, curricular, etc. We can borrow a leaf from the Iroko that America’s National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has become. Surely with an annual budget of $146m (about N28b in 2015) the NEA boasts of a chest to wink at entire budgets of several Nigerian states’ ministries of culture combined. It was set up in 1965 as an independent agency by the US government. Our own giant document on the endowment fund has been gathering dusts since the 1990’s.

There is an urgent need to deregulate and decentralize the business of collecting societies and the administration of royalty distribution. A strong function of the NEDC is to act as keen regulators of these independent membership-driven associations – and provide adequate and perpetual safety nets for creators of self-generating works of arts.

Note that even as we promote our culture, give jobs to our youth and project a worthy legacy for the promises of this great nation, the surrounding activities of NEDC are catalysts for grater and qualitative job opportunities for large spectrum of professionals and allied industries. It is a win-win scenario for all Nigerians.

Bola Ahmed Tinubu has already gone done in history as a trailblazer. Nothing showcases the steady, reliable, fuss-free Asiwaju brand better than adversity.  His life has been marked with authenticity, reliability and trustworthiness. Those who think that the election that took place recently at the National Assembly is the beginning of the end of his political career will be shocked. Asiwaju may have lost the battle but we have to keep in mind that he won the war.  People are now scrambling for the spoils of war. History will always remember him for his contribution towards the enrichment of our political culture. Tinubu is a fixed thing, a person with actual successes and failures. He means many things to many people. You can find people who know him as a saviour, an intellectual or six other things in between. But one thing you cannot take away from him is his love and passion for Nigeria.

According to Ganiyu Solomon, “Asiwaju is our long-sought after quintessential Nigerian leader whose vision, dreams and aspiration tower above non-progressive sectionalism, myopic tribalism and ethnic jingoism”. “His philosophy, orientation and socialist background have no doubt prepared him for what the future has begun to throw up. He has his eyes on the future and this is evident in his choice of people for leadership positions because he sure wants to look back in his old age and be complacent that posterity has a good place in stock for him.”  In the words of a political commentator, Tinubu’s intellectual efforts and personal sacrifices of his time and resources for noble ends have become a lodestar for others to follow. “To talk of Tinubu, that seemingly fragile looking easygoing man is to talk of quintessential large-heartedness. His indefatigability, and undaunted courage in the face of intimidating fear coupled with his powerful ambidexterity in the mobilization of men and resources make the man a political icon.”

What happened at the National Assembly recently is only a surprise to those who are still struggling to adapt to the shifting terrain of Nigerian politics – the quirks, betrayal, eccentricities and passion of our political culture. Asiwaju is used to political battles and cannot be intimidated at what played out in the National Assembly. But Bukola Saraki has done himself, and the party, great and unnecessary harm. His ride back to credibility and respect will be extremely difficult. He has willingly jumped into a bear trap of his own creation. Further events will determine who will be the loser. The Chinese believe that the strongest person in the room says the least. A strong man does not have to broadcast his intentions. Asiwaju stands for restrained moral power, power that is absolutely lethal and purposeful when it is unleashed, but never unleashed wantonly, without precise plan or purpose.

It is morally wrong to encourage disloyalty in the party. Members should always abide by party decision so as to instill discipline in the party.  Yakabu Dogara and Saraki betrayed the party and their actions have been condemned by well-meaning Nigerians.   Sani Zorro, who represents Gumel/Maigatari/Sule Tankarkar/Gagarawa Federal Constituency, of Jigawa State called it an act of desperation.  ”As for those who went for an unholy marriage with another rival of the APC, well, apparently, they have done it out of desperation,” he said. “It is also clear that any of them put their self-interest first before that of the party. We have decided to remain loyal to the party because we have seen this kind of situation before.”

A renowned Professor of law, Itse Sagay, is of the opinion that the election that enthroned Saraki as Senate President is fraudulent. “If you look at the moral point of view, that purported election was fraudulent. When you purport to hold an election deliberately in the absence of your opponent, knowing that he is absent, and intending to win at any cost unopposed by ensuring that absence, that constitutes fraud. Not only that, I think it’s an act of gross indiscipline, not just against his party, but against the whole country because we are all stakeholders in the electoral process, in who becomes the Senate President and we all felt cheated because there was no proper election. Again it’s also an act of gross impunity. In effect, he was saying ‘I know my opponent is keenly interested in contesting, I know my opponent is not here yet, and therefore, I will rush an election in his absence in order to be certain of victory at any cost.’ It’s absolutely unacceptable in a decent democracy.”

Asiwaju works hard to make the right tactical decisions and support the right policies and people. His support for Ahmed Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila is a support for progress and unity of the country. Some people have chosen to misunderstand him and impute motives. A leader engaged in trying to bring about change will find himself living in an environment hostile to his intentions. The signature trait that has distinguished him from most politicians is his doggedness. He is a man that provides real leadership under pressure. His unique combination of intelligence, toughness and startling humanity makes him a master of the game. But Asiwaju will not do anything to scuttle our democratic experience because he believes that democracy is the highest civic good. He has been preaching the ideals of freedom and pluralism and this has been resolutely affirmed by his actions.

• Orji is a media consultant and journalist

In the politics of the Fourth Republic, especially in the South-west, some characters have eminently distinguished themselves as politicians who should not to be taken seriously. They don’t represent anything that is believable. They are agents of retrogression who stand for nothing and as such are ready to go for anything. Their sole aim in politics, and in any endeavour, for that matter, is to promote parochial and self-seeking interests. Though, their names might ring a bell, it is often for the wrong reason.

Senator Iyiola Omisore, a serial gubernatorial contender in Osun State belongs to this class of personalities. One of the glorious eras in the history of Osun State was between 1999 and 2003 when Chief Bisi Akande was at the helm of affairs at the state. Akande ran one of the most prudent and transparent governments in the Fourth Republic. It was his administration that constructed the present Osun State Government Secretariat, a project it embarked upon through stringent financial engineering. Unfortunately for Chief Akande, his albatross was his deputy.

Unknowingly to him, while he was busy cutting cost of governance and blocking loopholes to wastage of government resources, his deputy, Iyiola Omisore, was not on the same page with him. His purpose in government ran at a cross-purpose with that of his principal, and like it is often the case, Omisore rebelled against Chief Akande. Thus, began a calculated campaign of defamation against Chief Akande with Omisore as the hatchet man. Like they say, the rest of Omisore’s dastardly acts during that period are now history.

However, in the ensuing political row between Omisore and Akande, the late Chief Bola Ige, who was then the leader of the Alliance for Democracy in Osun State, and a revered political figure in the country, was ridiculed by Omisore. The height of it was when one of Omisore’s thugs humiliated Ige right at the palace of the Ooni of Ife by removing his cap. One thing led to the other and Chief Ige was eventually brutally assassinated by unknown gunmen at his home in Ibadan. Naturally, Omisore became one of the chief suspects at Ige’s death. He was arrested and detained for some time. However, like most assassination cases in the country, nothing has come out of police investigations. Hopefully, the Chief Ige’s murder case file would be reopened.

Ever since, Omisore had tried in vain to govern Osun State. The last attempt being the decisive electoral humiliation he suffered in the hands of the incumbent governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola. Not satisfied with his rejection by the Osun electorates at the polls, Omisore took his case to the election tribunal where he was further humiliated for lack of merit in his case. Insisting that he must ‘reclaim his (phoney) stolen mandate’, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court were his next ports of call. But, again he lost barefacedly on these platforms. Since then, Omisore had been relatively quiet on the political scene. Who wouldn’t, given the enormity of the loss he suffered? His whereabouts suddenly became a subject of intense controversy as some claimed that he had relocated to neighbouring Ghana.

But like a bolt from the blue, Omisore suddenly found his voice again. And he is not just talking; he is actually singing like a Red-eyed Vireo bird which sings more than 20,000 songs a day. One particular subject that Omisore has suddenly found fascinating to sing about is the current workers’ salary imbroglio in Osun State. In his characteristic ‘talk is cheap’ fashion, Omisore claimed that Osun State Government under Aregbesola has borrowed more than N480 billion since he assumed office in 2010. According to him, the loan burden and the alleged continuous wasteful spending by the governor are some of the reasons the administration has been unable to pay workers for the past five months. He equally claimed that the governor also wasted the state’s resources on political campaigns during the last governorship poll and the just-concluded general election. Though, Omisore did not state what the governor’s security vote is, he, nevertheless, advised him to reduce his security votes as well as spending at the Government House while also advising him to stop giving Osun money to his Lagos visitors.

Like it is with dubious politicians who love to play to the gallery, it is not surprising that Omisore is attempting to bounce to relevance on the wing of the current Osun workers’ salary issue. And, it tastes sour. No responsible person would cash-in on the misfortune of a group of people to score cheap political points. In the past four years, when the Aregbesola administration was transforming the state through several capital and human capital development projects, Omisore’s voice was never heard. What is, perhaps, quite absurd is his penchant for rumour mongering and peddling of falsehood. Where on earth did he get the N480 billion debt profile figure he mischievously branded from when the total debt profile is not up to N70 billion? What exactly does he want to achieve by trying to hang Aregbesola based on the workers’ salary imbroglio when it is a common knowledge that about 24 other states are facing similar problem? Like the mischief maker that he is, Omisore did not tell his audience which of the People Democratic Party, PDP states has not borrowed to execute capital projects.

The fact of the matter is that Osun State, just like many others in the country, is currently facing economic challenges whose nature transcends local rationalization. Prior to the dawn of this present national economic predicament, the state had faithfully discharged its responsibilities to its workers.  For a period of not less than 30 months, there was no record of rancorous moment with its workers. Indeed, the state, despite its lean purse, is one of the few states in the country that paid its workforce a 13th-month salary every December.

Things actually become complicated when dwindling national revenue began to affect monthly allocations to states. For instance, in February 2013, Osun State got a total sum of N5 billion as allocation from the federal government. But, by April, the state’s monthly allocation dropped sharply to a mere N466 million. This is a verifiable fact that is in public domain. Between November 2010 and December 2014, Osun State  got a total statutory allocation of N108.3 billion with a wage bill of N120.4 billion and a total deficit of N12 billion. This, to any rational mind, aptly captures the dire financial strait of the state and, indeed, the country as a whole. Indeed, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had publicly given reasons why states of the federation could not pay salaries citing the same reasons Aregbesola offered to the workers and people of Osun.

What Osun State needs at the moment is not the idle meddlesomeness of crass opportunists like Omisore. The state can do without Omisore’s opportunistic rabble rousing for it leads to nowhere and adds no value. No matter, how far lies travel, truth would definitely catch up with it somehow, some day. Osun workers are not in the dark concerning the financial position of the state. Very soon, they will smile again. And very soon, Omisore and his ilk would not be able to find their voice again. Like before, there would be nothing for them to howler about.

• Raji is former Special Adviser, Information & Strategy, Lagos State.

In 2013, the Jonathan-led government gave the deadline of a 2015 rice ban. The year has come and there is a new government on seat. During his elections, President Muhammadu Buhari mentioned that his administration would focus on agriculture, mining, and infrastructure. These are all essential in the creation of an industrial state which would also improve the nation’s economy. During his campaign, the president was quoted to have said, “How can Nigeria be importing virtually everything? How can we be importing even tomatoes? If I am elected, basic items like rice and tomatoes, which we have the capacity to produce will be banned from being imported.” Looking at the situation of things on ground, the President would need a proper review of the situation at hand.

Indeed, there is a general agreement that Nigeria needs to achieve the rice self-sufficiency plan urgently. At the moment, Nigeria grows only 65% of the rice it consumes. The remaining 35% is imported. Certain analysts believe that a rice ban would bring sanity into the market, and drive the country towards self-sufficiency even faster. This is not true. It is also a simplistic analysis that has not considered the implication on the nation’s economy. The truth is that a rice ban and high import tariffs have only always helped increase the activities of smugglers.

The debate has returned to whether there should be a rice ban, or not? This article joins those voices against the implementation of a rice ban, as there is no indication, based on the realities on ground, that a rice ban is what the country needs to solve the current problems of the rice market. Rather, there should be a pertinent move to structure the present rice import quota allocation into a fair and transparent structure that encourages investors in the rice value chain. The government should also call stakeholders together for an action plan that reviews the present situation of things, based on a mutually agreed deadline.

The current situation is that the wrong people are taking advantage of the national rice gap, which is widened by quota policies and regulations that do not encourage a radical market expansion for local and foreign investors. The wrong people are taking advantage of the rice market’s porosity, and sabotaging the market. Just as high tariffs are meant to dissuade importation, rice ban would be sabotaged by these people who have come to wear the title of ‘the cabal’. They are believed to be friends of the government, who always find ways to evade tariffs. In the case of a ban, the cabal would smuggle in rice and put in place a network that would circumvent the law. The result is that government gets nothing while the masses will not be able to afford rice; meanwhile the government loses credibility and is seen as vile.

The argument usually put forward is that other food staples would take the place of rice while the ‘revolution’ occurs. It is good to know that, this could present a food security issue. Over the years, rice has established itself as a major staple in Nigeria. Rice consumption in some homes is on the menu of their three-square meal. There is a Yoruba proverb which says that, “When a food problem is solved, poverty lessens its relevance.” Rice has come to take a parallel position as an essential staple food, which must be made available.

Going back to 2012, rice duty was 30 percent. By the time it shot up to a 110 percent, most of the rice merchants abandoned Nigerian ports and moved to neighbouring states to import. These rice were then smuggled into the country. Also, in 1985, when the Babangida-regime banned rice, stating the same reason given by the Jonathan-led government. The rice ban was meant to alleviate and increase local production and fill the rice demand gap. The ban was lifted in 1995, because even after 10 years, the local production did not meet demand. The result was an unrestrained importation despite the 100% tariff placed on it. The 10-year period encouraged an influx of smugglers that denied government of revenue.  This would again be the situation of things if there is a rice ban.

The arguments offered by those clamoring for a rice ban has been that it would speed up the self-sufficiency plan.  In a newspaper report, even former minister of Commerce and Industry, Charles Ugwuh called for a five-year ban. He was reported to have expressed that the ban would allow the nation to focus on building local production and save the over $2.6 billion spent on rice imports. This can only take us back to a time of smuggling and lost revenues; which would not help an already abridged revenue with depleting oil reserves.

There is no point for ban agitators stunning public and lawmaker’s senses with statistical potentials that do not meet the actual realities on ground. It would be vital to deal with issues of Nepotism, policy instability, high tariffs, banning and unbanning, levies, all of which have made rice investment a high risk business. Time have revealed that increasing import duty and levy have never really dissuaded rice smugglers.

It is not only government that is involved in the rice self-sufficiency goal. There are too many stakeholders—even consumers. The first step now is to create a viable business environment for investors. The few committed investors who are building mills, buying hectares for paddies, training local farmers should not again be faced with tackling an unfavourable quota allocation that does not parallel their investment in the rice business, in the face of a dilapidated social structure. Government policies should be inclusive of a fair ground for our local businesses and foreign partners.

It is imperative that the President and the National Assembly Committee on Rice Imports Quota and Duty Payments ignore the demands for a rice ban, but instead focus its attention on bringing stakeholders together to put the quota imbalance between merchants and investors right, and securing a mutually beneficial plan for self-sufficiency. Government cannot do it alone, so it needs investors who can or have adopted local farmers into the local production target.

• Ladega writes from Lagos.

The trajectory of our national development has been one fraught with policy and leadership challenges. On most counts, however, the issue hadn’t been much about good policies but the will to execute and deliver on them by concerned authorities and institutions as professional and efficient entities. Part of that unfortunate reality is the so-called Nigerian factor which continues to weigh down on great ideals and opportunities with the attendant negatives in our development narrative.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently came under focus – the occasion being the first anniversary of the current governor of the bank, Godwin Emefiele – and with it positive ratings. Obviously, such assessment must have been informed by the difference the CBN has made in the last one year as both the banker to the government and of course as the regulator of the nation’s financial system.

This is the positive story all patriots would want to hear in this era of change: that people in leadership positions at every institution in government play their roles efficiently and effectively to rekindle hope in our people. This hope, I think, should necessarily impact the well-being of Nigerians by easing their economic pains and live a better life.

Like the former United States Secretary of the Treasury, Timothy Geithner, Emefiele assumed office at the CBN when the economy was under tumultuous stress: aside the the inclement political environment, there was the issue of huge decline in oil prices and barely $3.5 billion in excess crude account. As expected, many investors were also divesting from the capital market because they feared their investments could no longer be guaranteed in the environment of terror and uncertainties.

However, Emefiele got into the saddle with his sleeves firmly rolled up and we are now seeing some results. Besides confronting the challenges headlong, particularly in his resolve to clean up the corrupt and powerful interests in the nation’s financial system, the  CBN governor CBN has proven to be a pragmatist whose understanding of our economic realities is re-defining the critical factor of development financing. Although Emefiele has gotten a deserved commendation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for his shrewd handling of the economy, we do not want another era of spoon feeding from the Breton Woods institutions through their models and prescriptions. Nigerians now want to see policies and programmes that are tailor-made and practical, delivering on their welfare and growing the economy.

It is against this background that we have to see the strategic re-positioning of the CBN under Emefiele, directing the much needed attention to development financing just as the basic function of regulation with specific objective of streamlining fiscal and monetary policies is creating some hope of recovery. The much anticipated recovery won’t happen overnight anyway but it is salutary that the CBN is conscious of the need to open up opportunities that can create jobs and enhance national infrastructure and development. Thus, such focus on agriculture, manufacturing, health, oil and gas and other related development initiatives are welcome. Of particular note is the launch by the CBN, of the N220 billion Micro Small Medium Enterprises (MSMES) Fund and the investment of N500 billion in the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN). These two big ideas are innovative as strategic means of dealing with the challenge of accessing funds by operators of small scale businesses – a segment of the economy so critical to growth. Similar efforts are reflected in the N213 billion Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilisation Facility and the repositioning of the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund and similar credit institutions that are creating opportunities to those who otherwise would have been unable to be in business.

Interestingly, the financial system is regaining stability with tough decisions by the CBN. A major issue here is the tinkering with the operations of the Bureaux de Change (BDCs), a segment of the financial system which hitherto was noted for its notoriety in sharp practices that impacted negatively on the nation’s foreign reserves, yet no one before Emefiele appears to have dealt with it. CBN’s intervention through regulation has now created some level of sanity which is good for the health of the economy. Again, strict supervision of the banks and allied financial institutions like the mortgage banks is gaining traction as pro-active reforms are making desired impact and ensuring that our banks are healthy and run within basic ethics and global best practices. Adjunct to this is the question of financial inclusiveness which has made It possible to have a national governance structure which in partnership with some states  ensured a gradual reduction in percentage of financially excluded adults from 46.3 per cent in 2010 to 39.5 per cent by December 2014.

In its latest review of the economy by the CBN’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), the issues were well laid out regarding the challenges still confronting the economy namely: growth, inflation and general price stability. However, it was revealed that the fundamentals of the economy suggested improvement which could lead to better performance in the medium and long term, all things being equal. These challenges have informed such far-reaching policies to keep the fundamentals in the right momentum and of course the inevitable tightening of fiscal policies. Although some have accused the CBN of over-regulation but for close watchers of the economy, such decisions by the CBN are basically exigent. These are measures tied to controlling current level of inflation, stabilizing the price level and liquidity in the market, otherwise there is bound to be trouble. Inflation in particular remains in single digits since 2013 which many believe is a confirmation of the effectiveness of sustained tight monetary policy of the CBN.

Also, the MPC noted the relative improvement in the financial performance of the capital market which has been stabilizing over a period of time. The forex market is firming up against the dollar following the unification of the market in February and equities are rebounding reasonably which have so far suggested a modest recovery.

Generally the CBN has laid out a broad medium and long term economic strategies for growth and recovery; but for sustainability, the diversification of the economy must be pursued to a logical end with specific attention to the development of the non-oil sector. This is imperative for the economy to create more good jobs and attain sound growth just as the current tight fiscal policies should continue as a necessity. It is gladdening, however, that beyond fiscal management, the CBN under Emefiele is intensifying policies and programmes that are targeting development which is what Nigerians want to see.

• Olutomiwa is CEO, Mixot Emillia Limited, Lagos.

It appears Ogun State was in the mind of Abraham Lincoln when he crafted the famous dictum that democracy is a government “of the people, by the people, for the people”. Whereas Lincoln spoke from the hindsight of American experience, the dictum is a universal principle that is applicable to any part of the globe. In Ogun State, under the leadership of the incumbent governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, its application is not far-fetched.

Democracy has occasioned a number of opportunities in the state with the people as the central focus of development. Not only are the people given a say in the act of governance, they are the beneficiaries of the act. In effect, the impact of government policies and projects on the citizens has been overwhelming, worthwhile and positive. The vista of people-oriented development in the state will remind any observer of the governor’s often quoted words that the policy of the administration “is not about us” (those in positions of authority), but about the generality of the people.

His second term in office which was heralded by his inauguration on May 29 has created opportunity for continuity and consolidation of the programmes of the administration. The programmes are anchored on the administration guiding principle- to rebuild and raise the standard of Ogun State. This implies continued delivery of the dividends of democracy which have given the state a boost in the areas of urban renewal, intra-city and inter-city network of roads, quality education, liberalisation of land titles and Certificate of Occupancy, sustainable agriculture and security, to mention a few. The intention of the governor for his second term was laid bare in his inaugural speech where he stated: “We will leave Ogun State where taps are running in all homes; where factories and workshops are powered with regular supply of electricity; where health facilities are well equipped and properly maintained by highly qualified and well trained staff; where schools are functional, light rail links the state from town to town and where law and order is sustained.”

Signs that the governor is determined to consolidate on his first term performance are palpable. Even before his inauguration on May 29, the governor swung into action because as the proverb goes, the morning shows the day. Specifically on April 27, he signed a contract with a Chinese company for the construction of light rail system which will connect towns and ease transportation in the state. This one is another cutting edge. Even with this, some critics threw the brickbats, just like they did throughout his first-term, much to the consternation of the well-reasoned in the state. Ogun State being the most industrialised state in Nigeria, the idea of the light rail project is to key into the commencement of the construction of light rail networks by the federal government and neighbouring Lagos State and be part of the resultant benefits. The governor is endowed with a ready answer for getting goals; not being distracted by undue criticism and focusing on the targets of the administration.

A visionary move by the governor was the creation of an enabling environment for a federal government’s international airport project in the state. Recently, he was on ground with a team of experts at the site of the airport in Ewekoro area of the state. He was also on ground at the site of the Ogun cargo international airport in Ogere/Iperu axis, in what looks like a synergy for the opening up of the state’s industrial and agricultural potentials to the outside world. The site of the cargo airport will benefit from a unique location near the inter-change of Lagos-Ibadan and Lagos-Benin expressways. Around those airports will spring up intermediate business centres and catchment points in which the people will be the beneficiaries.

More importantly, the event that bore an eloquent testimony to the people-oriented programme of the administration was the distribution 1,000 Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) and building plan approval to home owners in the state in April, shortly after his re-election. The disbursement was the sixth in the series and was in furtherance government’s fulfilment to Home Owners in Ogun State to regularise their landed property at a reduced cost. The new system deployed by the government to process C of O, known as the Home Charter Scheme, has been able to side track the previous bottleneck and added some value to the citizens. The governor himself was personally present at this event and it turned out to be a demonstration of the understanding and cordiality between the government and the governed.

Certainly, the administration will consolidate on its provision of infrastructural facilities both in the rural areas and urban centres of the state. To the credit of the administration, several road projects, bridges and flyovers across the three senatorial districts were constructed and commissioned within its first term. Some of these projects are ongoing, and may be completed in due course. Without doubt, the extent of road infrastructure in the state since Senator Amosun assumed the mantle of leadership in 2011 has been phenomenal. Experience, they say, is the best teacher. Having been experienced in this area, it becomes easier for the administration to set sail and make another excellent mark in the new dispensation.

In all this, financial management remains one of the keys to the success or failure of any government. The success of the administration so far could be attributed its transparency and equitable use of resources in all sectors of the state’s economy. In a period that has been characterised by dwindling revenue allocation since the past eight months, only that state with the necessary acumen will survive. As the grip of the economic downturn widens, some states are in dire circumstances as they lack the financial wherewithal to pay workers’ salaries. In Ogun State, such a challenge appears not insurmountable due to sound financial management by the administration. In the next few months, it is hoped that the government will deploy strategies that will further move the state towards self-sufficiency.

The onus is on the people to reciprocate the gestures of the state government by their continued support and cooperation. This way, the ensuing conditions of peace and normalcy will provide the basis for development, progress and prosperity in the state.

• Elegbede, is a former chairman of Imeko-Afon Local government in Ogun State.