The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • Obile road: Appeal to IMSG

    Obile road: Appeal to IMSG

    SIR: Obile community is an oil bearing community in Ohaji, Imo State. It is reputed to have the largest deposit of gas in Nigeria presently.

    Obile road which was closed in 1976 by Imo State government is the old Douglas road constructed by the colonial government and named after late Mr. Douglas, a Briton. The road was the major link to what we have now as Imo and Rivers states, all in the defunct Eastern Region then.

    It was when Late Dr. M.I. Okpara became premier of the defunct Eastern Region that the vast land was acquired for the establishment of the then, Ohaji farm settlement, now Imo palm, from our benevolent fathers free of charge with unfulfilled promises that their community would be supplied with electricity, provided with potable water and their children given scholarship to university level.

    After acquiring the vast land, Dr. Okpara decided to plant rubber trees on the entire land. The rubber trees were planted by the two sides of the road according to the master plan of the farm, leaving the existing major road open from Obile down to Control Post, Owerri via World Bank Housing Estate Owerri.

    It was in 1976, when Imo State was created that the rubber trees were up-rooted and replaced with palm trees. This was when Obile road was closed from the boundary between Obile and Imo palm down to Control Post Owerri through Amafor, Obogwe, Okwuku and Umugwuma via  World Bank Housing Estate Owerri.

    Imo State government did not follow the master plan of the farm by giving some meters gap away from the two sides of the major road before planting the palm trees as was the case when rubber trees were planted. They planted the palm trees right on the middle of the existing ancient road of the community, leaving the people in perpetual suffering and in an economic quagmire till date.

    After the closure of the road, Imo State government decided to construct a new road from Owerri down to Egbema through Imo palm, cutting Obile off without considering the fate of the people whose only out-let to the outside world they had closed.

    Since the closure of the road, life has been very difficult for the people from Obile community due to absence of accessible road to Owerri market, the only major market for the sale of their farm produce.

    The people of Obile are making this clarion call to Imo State government as law-abiding community to re-open their closed road by up-rooting all the palm trees planted on the middle of the road that makes it inaccessible for them for over four decades now.

    The re-opening of this road will go a long way to mitigate the untold hardship, save lives and property, and will also give them the richly deserved sense of belonging as people from Imo State and as an oil bearing community.

    Another harrowing experience of the Obile community is the award of the contract for one of their rural roads by NDDC to an incapable contractor for over five years now. All road contracts awarded the same year with that of Obile have been completed and commissioned; we want to know what is holding the completion of that of Obile road.

    Let NDDC send their inspection team to Obile in Ohaji to see the sorry state of Obile road for which the commission has made full payment to the erring contractor.  The management of NDDC should, for the sake of peace, get the contractor back to site at Obile, or re-award the contract to a capable contractor.

    • Daniel Oparah,

     Ohaji, Imo State.

  • Rethinking the dollar squeeze

    Rethinking the dollar squeeze

    •Yes, Nigeria must protect her currency but it must be a phased, methodical process

    Surely, no serious government would watch her currency being debased; not with the importation of products that can easily be produced locally; or for which there are local substitutes. By the same token, government’s economic policies are not often taken by a sudden turn of action like a swish of the sword. They are usually carefully designed and executed often in phases. If only for the reason that the world family is interconnected and one major, favorable economic policy adjustment in one part of the globe, is likely to result in a negative economic turn in another part.

    It is for this basic reason that the move by Nigeria’s new government of President Muhammadu Buhari to boost her ailing economy through import control has been raising storms both in the country and beyond.

    In view of the fall in the prices of crude oil, Nigeria’s major export product, and the attendant shortfall in revenues, the Federal Government had to take a few drastic measures upon assuming office last May. Among them were the curtailment of frivolous importations; the shoring up of Nigeria’s currency against free-fall in the face of shrunken dollar earnings and putting a tighter screw on foreign currency transactions, among others.

    These measures, salutary as they are, have exacted various tolls on different aspects of the economy and raised eyebrows in various quarters. Even certain foreign interests that desire that Nigeria’s government should not protect her currency but allow it to float with market forces have been applying pressure.

    Global financial institutions like J.P Morgan and Barclays Bank have recently delisted the country from their dollar-denominated indices claiming that Nigeria is illiquid in dollar terms. Of course, this will make Nigeria’s dollar bond holders to withdraw and perhaps put their funds in other sovereign bonds that can be tracked through global indices.

    Business men and manufacturers groups in Nigeria have also cried out about this currency policy. While traders have been devising unofficial and in some cases, devious ways of sourcing and moving foreign currencies for their businesses in the short run, the highly regarded Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has also weighed in recently. It urged government to review the list of 41 items barred from accessing foreign exchange noting that some of the items constituted major raw material inputs for some manufacturers. LCCI insists that this singular policy has hampered the operations of many companies.

    The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), the apex real sector organ, has also noted that the foreign exchange restriction on 41 items has a negative spiral effect on about 600 items in total. But the latest revelation about the far-reaching effects of government’s policy comes from the financial sector. According to reports emanating from the banking sector, it has been revealed that Nigerian banks owe their foreign counterparts about $4 billion arising from the restriction of importation of some items.

    Key Nigerian banks had guaranteed some of the credit lines opened for importers. Today, many of the importers find it difficult to pay as a result of the strictures on foreign currency; since they can no longer raise dollars through the official Central Bank of Nigeria window to pay their local lender banks, these banks can also not offset the credits granted by foreign banks.

    We urge the Federal Government to revisit this currency policy. As we have noted, while it is the right thing to do, it must be phased over a medium to long-term period. Nigeria cannot switch from being an import-dependent nation to an export power-house overnight. There is certainly need for at least a two-year period of planning and building requisite infrastructure. For instance, while Nigeria strives for self-sufficiency in rice and wheat production in two years as recently proclaimed, such a change would not be wrought on an empty stomach; there must be imports in the interim.

    It is the same situation for most other products in which Nigeria seeks self-sufficiency. Yes, we must guard our economy but we must also tread softly – if only for the reason that factories are not built overnight!

  • Not yet there

    Not yet there

    •More reforms are needed to deepen pension, and offer needed relief to retired senior citizens

    One of the most vulnerable groups in our society today are the thousands of retirees who, after a lifetime of active service in the private and public sectors of the economy, no longer have the energy and capacity to continue to work; and are thus forced to become dependent on others.

    Their plight is worsened by the country’s protracted economic crisis characterised, among others, by inflationary spirals and general price increases that lead to substantial hikes in the cost of living; as well as massive youth unemployment that make it difficult or impossible for jobless young persons to offer succour to their aged retired dependants.

    It is against this background that various pension reforms have been carried out over the years making it obligatory for both workers and their employers to save specified amounts during their years of active labour to entitle retirees to some sustainable income after retirement.

    On 1 July 2014, for instance, former President Goodluck Jonathan signed into law the new Pension Reform Act 2014, which repealed the Pension Reform Act No 2 of 2004. The 2014 pension law regulates and governs the administration of the contributory pension scheme for both the private and public sectors.

    It provides for an increase in the minimum number of employees required to make contributions under the Act mandatory as well as an increase in the minimum contribution payable into the scheme. Another feature of the 2014 Act is the imposition of fines and penalties on Pension Fund Administrators who fail to meet their obligations to contributors and violate the provisions of the Act.

    We find it gratifying and commendable that the National Pension Commission is not resting on its oars but is constantly striving to deepen pension reforms in order to enable retirees to live more comfortably and with greater dignity. For instance, the commission is reportedly currently working on a plan to make retirees, for the first time in the history of pension administration in the country, entitled to a minimum pension payment of N14, 400 monthly.

    Beneficiaries of this initiative will be private and public sector workers under the Contributory Pension Scheme who have made contributions for a minimum of 15 years into their Retirement Savings Accounts. To benefit from the scheme, informal sector and casual workers are expected to have contributed to their Retirement Savings Accounts for 120 and 135 months respectively.

    The prime aim of this initiative is to bring to an end the payment of ridiculously low pensions to retirees and address the sustained agitation by pensioners under the old defined benefit scheme for a stipulated minimum pension stipend. It is unbelievable that many of the retirees are currently said to be entitled to less than N500 a month.

    Under the Contributory Pension Fund, amounts paid pensioners by the Pension Fund Administrators are a function of the balances in their Retirement Savings Accounts at the point of retirement. Workers with a balance less than N 550,000 have their total contributions returned to them making them ineligible for monthly pensions.

    We are aware that modalities to actualise this proposal are still being worked out by the National Pension Commission. We urge the commission to consult widely with all stakeholders before the initiative is promulgated into law and becomes operative. It is obvious that, given current harsh economic realities, the proposed minimum pension stipend of N14, 400 cannot by any means be described as a living wage. But it only mirrors the national minimum wage of N18,000, which is quite unrealistic, relative to the cost of living in the country.

    In the final analysis, there is no alternative to aggressively rejuvenating the economy through appropriate policies to diversify the country’s economic base as well as renew, expand and modernise infrastructure to achieve higher productivity and wealth creation. That way, both workers in active service and retirees will be able to receive meaningful minimum monthly remunerations that enable them to cope better with living costs.

  • It’s Ondo North or none

    It’s Ondo North or none

    SIR: Since the advent of this nascent democracy in 1999, all the three regions in Ondo State comprising Ondo North, Ondo South and Ondo Central have had their share of the governance and have called the shots at the top job as the governor. It will do no region any good when we try to arm-twist another. It is simple arithmetic to revert to the first order. Ondo North started the race, with Adebayo Adefarati as governor for four years, followed by Olusegun Agagu from the south for six years. Olusegun Mimiko from Ondo central is still there to complete eight years soon.

    The governoship slot should simply go back to the North comprising of the Akoko area – Ose local government area – before it can move to south comprising of riverine areas of the state. Ideally, there should not be any oscillation of opinions in the regions.

    Unfortunately, the explanations above have found no space with the ego-centric individuals presently gunning to thwart the aspirations of the Ondo North region. Ondo State is a relatively simple and united state, but recent happenings have changed this notion, where everybody wants to give it a go, including the central region, where the present governor comes.

    They should not test the resolve of the north; we have all respected the other regions. The same ambitious attitude goes back into our history. As kids, we were told Yorubas originated from Ile-Ife.  What we have today are different Obas in Yorubaland claming to be the progenitor of the race and thrashing the history we all have learnt – a nation where a rich son now expects the father to greet him first.

    Ondo South has formidable individuals that can dole out wads of naira. The people have benefited from oil and their affinity with the Niger Delta. They are a fortunate region, but they should respect order. I implore all the sons and daughters of Ondo North to thrust their united front forward. The region has been cheated in the affairs of the state. Mimiko has never thrown anyone from the region up, he has clamped down on adversaries in that region, just as the rumours are everywhere that he is planning to throw his weight behind someone from the south region, hence his offer of appointment to some insolent politicians from that region  recently – those familiar with rigging techniques.

    I am sure, the Akoko people know what they want. I will be waiting for any bold one from other regions to bring their campaign train to the region. It is a straight choice: Ondo North or nothing. This is not pride as people might think or war drumbeat, but pushing what is right and just. Any wise party should choose along this reasoning.

     

    • Aduloju O Folagbade

    Ijapo Estate, Akure,

    Ondo State.

  • Cheap but costly

    Cheap but costly

    •Substandard products cost Nigeria about N50 billion annually

    Since her oil boom years started in the late 70s, Nigeria has become haven for cheap, substandard and fake products from virtually all over the world. Successive weak governments and poor consumer monitoring and regulatory regimes have over the years opened the floodgate for the importation of cheaply priced but very low quality goods and products into Nigeria.

    The situation has become so pervasive today that Nigerian businessmen would scour the globe seeking for the poorest quality and sometimes, adulterated products to ship into Nigeria. What seems to be paramount to them is the profit they stand to make and not the overall cost of their venture to the nation’s economy.

    However members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS), a business group comprised of local industrialists have, once again, called attention to the dangers of unbridled importation of substandard goods and products. In a recent media release, the OPS noted that Nigeria may be losing about N50 billion annually.

    Following from the recent trip of President Muhammadu Buhari to India, members of the OPS are elated that the president in his speech, made a point of letting the Indian government realize that Nigeria would no longer accept the influx of poor quality and adulterated goods from India into her shores. Considering that a large chunk of such goods come from India, China and other countries of Asia, that pronouncement was quite timely and will be expected to signpost Nigeria’s resolve to fight this canker that has almost damaged her economy.

    There is no doubt that the haemorrhaging of Nigeria’s economy arising from indiscriminate importation of goods may be far worse that the OPS envisages. One of the most crucial costs is the toll on local industries, especially the small and medium scale enterprises. It is apposite that this segment of the economy will never grow if it is besieged by cheap, fake goods. And which economy ever takes off the ground in a situation where small scale manufacturing is stymied? The cost, in this instance, to the economy is enormous, if not unquantifiable.

    There also the cost to a populace bedeviled by a suffusion of counterfeit and substandard goods that hardly serve the purpose for which they are purchased and of course, do not survive more than  a few usages. Therefore, the purchase of these goods often amount to money thrown down the drains.

    It is indeed quite salutary that President Buhari recognised this crucial ill of Nigeria’s economy and had the presence of mind to mention it at the right quarters in India. We hope that the Federal Government would take that matter beyond mere speech-making and see it for the ulcer it is to Nigeria’s economy.

    We expect that the various ministries, departments and agencies of government would come to a round table and initiate an all-encompassing campaign. The Ministry of Trade and Industry must own and lead this crucial drive to curtail what must be regarded as a clear economic sabotage. Also to play leading role in this fight would be Nigeria’s economic attaches in her foreign missions and the Nigeria Customs Service.

    Regulatory and monitoring agencies like the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), the National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Consumer Protection Council (CPC), must all be made to wake up to their duties and responsibilities. The Central Bank of Nigeria and commercial banks must all be put on notice to ensure that they do not fund or facilitate the importation of products that are known to be debilitating to Nigeria’s economy.

    Finally, we must embrace a culture of excellence and quality in all our businesses and transactions. Standard is a worldwide and well calibrated phenomenon. No country would make hay transacting business otherwise. Whether we like it or not, the world would only accept ‘world standard’ imports from us or nothing; by the same token, we must also insist on reciprocal quality.

    Just as the world has become used to the famous ‘British Standard’, time is now for Nigeria to reevaluate and redefine her standards. We can create the ‘Nigerian Standard’ too.

  • Juice for their honourables!

    Juice for their honourables!

    •As lawmakers scramble for choice committees

    Membership of the National Assembly is like a licence to print money, what with the trainload of compensations that comes with it for minimal exertion.  It is one long holiday in the lap of luxury, paid for by a public that has no say whatsoever on the matter.

    The lawmakers virtually determine what they take home.  While they may disagree about everything else, they are united in keeping their package of compensations a secret.

    More than 80 per cent of Nigerians live on less than N300 a day.  Yet Nigerian lawmakers draw a “wardrobe” allowance ranging from N50,000 to N60, 000 a month.  They even draw a special compensation for “hardship”:  the hardship of being chauffeured in luxury limousines paid for by the state, from palatial homes they bought for less than one-tenth of the market price, to the National Assembly, for desultory proceedings that last no longer that 200 days in a whole year.

    And yet, they are hankering after more, as is clear from the unseemly scramble for “juicy” committee assignments. Membership of the legislature, it seems, is not about making just laws for the good governance of Nigeria; it is not about entrenching democracy, or rendering public service. It is not about making Nigeria a better place for all citizens.

    Rather, it about self-aggrandizement.

    It is bad enough that the 109-member Senate has no less 59 committees dealing with every subject under the sun and even beyond. This arrangement ensures that each member will serve as chair or deputy chair of one committee or another.  It also guarantees that each member will have another official car in his or her fleet for committee work.

    The committee structure of the House of Representatives is similarly bloated.

    Were it left to them, few members would want to serve on the Committee for Monuments  and Museums.  There is no “juice” there.  The responsible Minister is hardly in a position to dispense largesse in cash or kind to Committee members for favourable consideration of its budget or programmes.

    But there is “juice” aplenty in the Ministry of Agriculture – think fertilizers— and in the Abuja Capital Territory – think parcels of choice public land – – and in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources —think import licences for refined petroleum products subsidies.

    For members of the legislature, the committees with oversight functions for these ministries or departments  are the committees of choice or, beg your pardon, of juice.

    Nor is this the only troubling aspect of the matter.

    Whereas the distribution of committee positions between the ruling APC and the Opposition PDP reflects the balance of forces in the Senate, that of the House of Representatives is so skewed that a visitor might think that Nigeria is running a coalition government.

    In that chamber, the APC with 214 members has 48 as committee chairs; the PDP with 125 members has 46 of as committee chairs.  House Speaker Yakubu Dogara says the arrangement is designed to reflect “federal character.”  The Constitution requires nothing like that. If that is indeed a requirement, why have with political parties and elections?

    As Dogara sorts out the confusion his high-handedness and his unrelenting defiance of his own party have wrought, it is well for the National Assembly to go back to basics; to remember that it is there to serve the people first and foremost, and that the pampered existence it has enjoyed thus far is no longer sustainable.

  • Sabotage

    Sabotage

    •CJN Mahmud Mohammed is right: shoddy investigations kill corruption cases

    The observation by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed (CJN), that shoddy investigation and prosecution are the bane of many failed corruption and other criminal trials, is not unfounded.

    According to media reports, the CJN was quoted to have said to the senior officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) who came to intimate him on the challenges of prosecuting e-fraud cases, that the “court cannot carry out investigation and our security agencies must be encouraged to carry out investigation-led arrest and not arrest-led investigation”.

    While some judges may also be complicit, in the several shoddy criminal trials that we have witnessed in this country, it is the investigators and the prosecutors that in so many of those cases, give the accused person and his defence team, the leeway, to trounce our criminal justice system.

    In the war against corruption, perhaps the government should work towards enthroning doughty, effective and efficient investigation and prosecution teams. Towards this, the Buhari Presidency may have to reorganise the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC).

    As the CJN rightly observed, “In some cases, up to 200 counts are brought before the court which is a waste of court’s time; and makes a mockery of the constitution and the laws”. But despite the high plurality of charges, especially against politically exposed persons, in several of the trials, the prosecution is unable to prove even the minimalist of the charges, which on the face of the indictments, could easily be proved.

    Indeed, for many lay men, the number of charges and the incessant change in the numbers and titles of the charges, give the impression that the trials are more of drama than of substance.

    As was reported, the CJN also said: “Judiciary is like a builder and works with materials that are brought to it. As such, the material necessary for construction must measure up to standard in order to be applied by the courts”.

    The new Administration of Criminal Justice Act, which took away criminal prosecution from the police, would appear aimed to engender efficient prosecution of criminal cases. But as we have witnessed, most of the bungled high profile cases were prosecuted by very senior lawyers.

    Considering also that prosecuting agencies have in the past complained against the court, it is fair to ask, who is responsible for the high number of failed criminal prosecution in our country:

    is it the investigators, the prosecutors or the adjudicators? Perhaps there is the need to audit our criminal justice process, to decipher the loopholes, in order to plug them.

    While at it, the admonition of the CJN that before bringing the accused to court, the agencies of government should investigate first, should be noted. The present system where many high profile cases are in court for more than a decade, ridicules not just the prosecution, but the courts and our country.

    So, in the war against corruption, it is important that as we seek upright judges, we should also seek upright investigators and prosecutors. The operators of the criminal justice system must appreciate that the public views them with near contempt, because of the feeling that many of the trials are programmed to fail.

    Considering the enormous constitutional responsibilities of the CJN, as head of the judiciary, we urge him to put in place stringent practice directions to restore the dignity of the courts.

    Also forensic investigators must be trained and equipped, while any lawyer that compromises prosecution, should face the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee.

  • Who killed Dele Giwa?

    Who killed Dele Giwa?

    •Police should reopen probe into the murder of the ace journalist now

    The suggestion that the Police may reopen investigations into the murder of ace journalist, Dele Giwa, killed through a parcel bomb on 19 October 1986, is  welcome.

    The hideous killing had then provoked a national outcry as it was executed through a strange method. Journalists and human rights activists called on the Police to carry out a thorough investigation with a view to apprehending the killers and preventing reoccurrence.

    However, despite the hues and cries, a shoddy job was done, thus leading to a yearly call on the Police to find the murderers. There is a general public suspicion that some officials of the government of the day knew about the murder.

    Recent conflicting statements by Kayode Soyinka, who was the London Correspondent of Newswatch, whose Editor-in-Chief Giwa was, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Abubakar Tsav and former Deputy Inspector General of Police, Chris Omeben, have introduced a new dimension to the case.

    It is intriguing that 19 years after the gruesome murder, principal participants are beginning to find their voice. Mr. Omeben, who claimed to have led the investigations into the case, said he faced frustrations as he was unable to reach Mr. Soyinka, dubbed the major suspect.

    But Mr.  Tsav has described the claim of his former boss as false.  Mr. Tsav said he handled the probe and got Mr. Soyinka to make statements, as he was present with the late Giwa that day. Mr. Tsav also revealed his frustrations came from government quarters; as all attempts to get Col. Halilu Akilu and Lt. Col. Kunle Toogun, two security chiefs also named in the case, to address issues as concerned them failed.

    The former Lagos Police boss claimed the two were shielded by the government and his bosses. He wondered why Mr. Omeben, who got the case file and refused to return it, is singing a different tune about two decades after.

    The pledge by Olabisi Kolawole, spokesperson for the Nigeria Police, to order a fresh probe into the matter should start without delay. It is not sufficient for Ms Kolawole to promise doing so only if fresh facts emerge. The facts released to the public by Messrs Soyinka, Tsav and Omeben are enough to commence fresh investigations, as criminal cases are not statute-barred.

    This is a democratic government and, fortunately, Cols Akilu and Toogun are still alive. They should be invited to answer queries on whatever they knew about the matter. Mr. Giwa should not be allowed to die in vain.

    Already, there have been too many unresolved murders, many politically motivated. A. K. Dikibo, Marshal Harry, Bola Ige, Olayiwola Balogun, were some of those so killed.

    We call on the Nigerian Bar Association, the Nigerian Union of Journalists and the human rights community in the country to insist on a thorough, fresh probe into the crime.

    President Muhammadu Buhari who is seen as a courageous leader, and who has aversion for corruption, oppression and all forms of injustice, should step into the matter immediately by ordering a high-powered investigation into the matter.

    Lawyers have always held that an injustice to one is injustice to all. This is one reason that efforts must be made to ensure that Giwa’s son, Billy, and the widow, Funmi, who were traumatized by the bombing, get psychological relief and justice.

    A successful resolution of the issue would also serve to assure the general public that the Nigerian state has the capacity and will to protect citizens. This could serve as deterrence to putative future criminals. However late it might have been, the arms of the law should catch up with all who infringe the law.

    Journalists in Nigeria are pursuing constitutionally assigned responsibilities; and deserve the protection of the state. Journalists — and other professionals, for that matter — should not be murder targets, simply for performing their lawful and legitimate duties.

    Who killed Dele Giwa?  That remains a poser yet unanswered. This is one murder that must be laid to rest — and the earlier, the better.

  • Mr. President

    Mr. President

    • Some inspiring words, please …

    The president insists he is telling the truth.  The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counter he is “de-marketing” the economy.  The acceptable position would appear in-between.

    President Muhammadu Buhari has provoked a storm from the PDP (which has a partisan motive to growl) but also from not a few Nigerians (non-partisan citizens who just want the best for their country) for his stand on the current state of the economy.

    Put starkly, the president declares Nigeria is broke; and therefore cannot afford the things she used to afford — one of them, the pay and perks of a full retinue of 36 ministers; or for that matter, funding 36 ministries.  He therefore contended some ministers would just sit in cabinet meetings, without portfolios.  The PDP is especially riled that each time the president goes abroad, he trumpets Nigeria is broke, Nigeria is broke, therefore “de-marketing” the economy from the so-called foreign investors he claims he is wooing.

    The PDP gripe is not without merit.  But whether such plain honesty (as the president insists) amounts to “de-marketing” is another thing.  Still, using PDP’s own terminology, during its 16 years in power, particularly the last five years under President Goodluck Jonathan, what was it doing — “marketing” the economy?

    If it did, what was the result — the present economic collapse (and of about everything), which catapulted it out of federal power?

    Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Finance minister and coordinating minister for the Economy, was always rhapsodizing how strong the economy was; with gusto counting the beans and with zest, flaunting her “impressive” balance sheets.

    Indeed, at the “re-basing” that gifted Nigeria the “biggest economy in Africa”, the Jonathan administration virtually blew its top, piping Nigeria’s arrival at the long-awaited economic nirvana, especially with a yearly economic “growth” of more than five per cent.  Besides, the international rating agencies were beside themselves, awarding the economy high ratings.

    Yet, all of this seldom resulted in bridging the unemployment gulf; or having a dent on mass poverty, bordering on penury.  So, if “marketing” the economy only delivered such a parlous result, it would appear that growing or shrinking the economy would involve more fundamental factors, deeper than “marketing” or “de-marketing” the economy.

    So, the PDP would do well to quit emotional wailing on the economic front, just to score cheap political points, when critical thinking is called for.  Besides, if the PDP had been more diligent at its governing chores these last 16 years, the result would not be this paralysing mess.

    Having said that, however, President Buhari too needs to remould his communication style.  The religious-minded — or even the plain fatalistic — talk of the enormous power of the tongue.  That simply means: whatever you say may well, in the final analysis, be your “portion”, to use another religious-speak.

    That is why the president and his handlers must embark on more inspiring ways to present the unflattering economic situation (the woes of which about everyone can feel), even as they rigorously think out of the bog.  Hearing every time that Nigeria is broke, or that the economy is in near-collapse, and other ultra-negative war cries, have a tendency to paralyse.  How do you rouse a paralysed people to buckle up and work at a salvage?

    Without vaulting to the other extreme of flippant optimism, the president should be more positive; and provide a sunny face of the economy, even as his economic team x-rays the rather grim fundamentals; and come up with fresh thinking.  Yes, the president should tell Nigerians the truth — his personal integrity, after all, played a big role in his presidential  win.  But it must be truth wisely, rather than starkly, told.

    That measured optimism, of branding Nigeria’s a challenging economy, yet not at all beyond redemption, backed by a clear-cut policy direction, should provide the double elixir of caution and hope, that should inspire both Nigerians and foreigners, and eventually salvage the economy.

  • Nigeria needs a Donald Trump  

    SIR: While many Nigerians are busy ridiculing Donald Trump’s rather unorthodox bid for the Republican Party’s Presidential ticket, he’s busy surging in the polls. Since his surprise declaration on June 6, he’s established himself as the candidate to beat.

    I am not a fan of the loud-mouthed New York billionaire, though. In addition to his uppity personality, he has uttered a lot of rubbish that is at variance with what is expected of someone of his stature.

    For example, at the peak of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) crisis of 2014, he opined that all American doctors treating Ebola patients in West Africa should be barred from returning to the United States.

    Not satisfied that that measure will adequately shield God’s Own Country from the menacing disease, he went ahead to proffer President Obama a novel solution: “Stop all the flights from West Africa!”

    The truth is that most Americans are intrigued by his no-holds-barred, say-it-as-it-is, politically incorrect and frenetic candidacy, epitomised by his explosive diatribes. It’s an approach never before seen in America’s presidential electioneering and the people are simply thrilled.

    As bad and as ridiculous as it makes the GOP’s (Grand Old Party) presidential race look, however, Donald Trump’s erratic candidature is actually healthy for the system. His frequent outbursts and vituperation, which are often at variance with the Republican Party’s entrenched ethos, demonstrate that he’s no pushover. He has come out to Americans as someone who is not afraid to be different, someone who cannot be easily manipulated and held to ransom by extraneous forces.

    Secondly, he comes as his true self, not as a creature of someone else packaged for electoral purposes. Oftentimes, what the electorate gets to see is a designer candidate, crafted and fine-tuned by his party and sponsors, whose electioneering disposition may not be consistent with his true personality. With Trump, what you see is what you get.

    Thirdly, his frequent and well-calculated attacks on anyone whose opinions do not align with his puts everyone on his or her toes. With Donald Trump in the game, you know there’s no room for slip-ups; otherwise his damaging opinion about you will be tomorrow’s news headline.

    Finally, Donald Trump injects some comedy into what is usually a dour, solemn and cautious affair. We could all use a laugh. He’s the reason why many people are interested in the Republican angle of the presidential race. You never know what is in the cards when Trump is in the game.

    Going by the aforementioned, it is clear that Nigeria needs a Donald Trump who will be unafraid to speak his mind not minding whose ox is gored.  We need someone who will shake the system to its very foundation. We need a Trump who will not be afraid to speak out, to pick on our underwhelming leaders and tell them their ills to their faces.

    Nigeria needs a politically incorrect Donald Trump. We need a Donald Trump who is not afraid to be different, only that this time around it will be in a positive way. We need a Donald Trump so unwavering in his convictions that he doesn’t care if he’s labelled unpatriotic, called a tribalist or a tagged a squawker.

    We need a Donald Trump who will be his own man. Nigeria needs a Donald Trump who will not be a slave to his election sponsors, party chieftains or political godfathers.

    • Chinedu George Nnawetanma,

    cnnawetanma@gmail.com