The Nation Newspaper

Tag: next level

  • 4th Republic at 20: Imperatives for the Next Level

    With the swearing in of President Muhammadu Buhari for a second four year term on May 29, Nigeria’s fourth experiment in democracy or democratization, indeed the longest in the country’s history, will clock 20 years of teeing off¸ witnessing six presidential inaugurations. These are two of President Olusegun Obasanjo, one of Late President Umaru Yar’adua, and President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan respectively, One of President Buhari in 2015 and another one now.

    Of cause, it is a period sufficient enough to remedy the past challenges of governance and development in Africa’s most populous nation since her independence in 1960. These past 20 years of the Fourth Republic, 16 of them spent under the behemoth political party, the People’s Democratic Party, PDP which thrilled Nigerians with a boast to rule the country for 60 years before it was swept out of office in 2015, therefore offer an opportunity to explain the tardiness of development and reform in the country, as well as to interrogate the imperatives of taking her to The Next Level as promised by this continuing government during electioneering in the warm up to the general elections earlier this year.

    Nigeria’s experience in democratization since the first republic shows that ours had been one of unnecessary muscle-flexing among tiers and arms of government when all should play complementary roles without prejudice to the norms of checks and balances, given the enormous challenges confronting the nation. Between the Federal and State governments in many instances, there is power or jurisdiction contestation while the local governments often claim subjugation under the states.

    In the same vein, confrontation is not uncommon between the executive and legislative arms of government on areas that ordinarily demand understanding and cooperation. Realities also abound of corruption and interference in judiciary, and consequently compromise or delay of justice and interpretation of the constitution, even on issues that should facilitate amity in our polity. More dangerous is the tendency for the politicization of the police, the armed forces and the anti-corruption agencies. If this is the scenario, it would of cause be difficult, if not impossible for development or reform to be facilitated in the country.

    If the government policies anchored on CHANGE in the past four years must therefore be consolidated for national development, they must enjoy ownership of all stakeholders in the Nigerian Project while Federal Government projects must in similar vein find expression support and partnership in all regional development initiatives in the country. This is beyond party loyalty and political affiliation. This is about alignment and coordinated national development.

    Here, a historical evaluation of party formation starting from the First Republic comes handy. A simple question: Which of the republic’s political parties had a national character? Even if any of them set out to be a national party, what was the extent of its penetration to other culture areas outside its primary base? There were the Northern People’s Congress, Action Group, Northern Elements Progressive Union, United Middle Belt Congress and National Council of Nigerian Citizens.

    But the Nigerian political party history shows that in the strongholds of each of these parties during the pre-independence struggle and the immediate post-independence era, any other party that attempted to establish presence in areas outside its primary base was considered an intruder, and membership of such party was treated with disdain.

    This culture of intolerance played out in the nation’s successive democratic experiments when ethnic, tribal and creedal sentiments are called upon in power calculation and distribution. The first lesson here is that the Nigerian political system does not encourage, accommodate national spread. Secondly, her experience has shown that parties are often built round personalities and not on a defined structure that subject individuals to the party or subjugate personal or tribal interests to the overriding national interest.

    Other ills of the political party system which have manifested over the years include a dearth of abiding political ideologies; a culture of political violence; lack loyalty and disciplined followership; poor internal party mechanism; rise of cult personalities and god-fatherism among other vices.

    From these lessons, we can also extrapolate further on political diversity and pluralism in the country. It is known that political parties exist to canvass interests and capture power in any polity. They compete for the same electorate, in spite of the political and demographic diversity, not vying for segmented citizenry with peculiar needs or niches in the economic sense. So, how should this be done without offending the sensibilities of any segment of the electorate?

    In a 2015 article Mirror of the Moment this analyst had noted that “there is an entrenched consciousness in the country that population size, need or merit cannot be the only determinants of representation and distribution of power and resources in the country as there is a growing awareness that no part of the country should be taken as superior in need or size than the other under any guise. This awareness has been at the root of different agitations in the country, and has informed some of the policies in place.”

    Across Nigeria, people now canvass for equal length of tenure of office among the six geopolitical zones. We have accepted that there should be equal number of representation both in government and in the parliament in a way that no region will have undue advantage over the other, and that we should have equal share of resources. In my understanding of our equalitarian politics, however, we must accept equal burden of neglect in every part of the country, equal blame for failure in governance, and also equal responsibility for the wastage of opportunities and advantages we have had.

    In the Nigerian equalitarian politics, the belief is that what you give A, B must also have regardless of whether B has a need for it or not. The metaphor of the national cake is illustrative of this phenomenon. Many states will actually prefer that the proverbial cake is sliced into 36 equal parts but none may ask if the equal share is the right or sufficient share for each state, how manage its own share is likely to be the refrain even when the so called equal slice might be too much or too little for some.

    Political choice and alternatives in such system of government must conduce to rationality, objectivity, freedom, consciousness and conscience in the determination of who is elected to power, with most citizens in agreement that such leaders and representatives emerge by political consensus and they truly approximate the values of integrity, including merit, knowledge, sanity, experience and health in its entirety in the collective interests of the nation.

    It is generally believed that the first 16 years of the 4th Republic belonged to the wolves in the rapacity of PDP shredding the nation’s commonwealth. It is  seen as the justification for the sacking of the President Ebele Goodluck Jonathan led-government in 2015. It is also what informed the resistance of  the party’s return to power in the loss  of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the last general election. On the election of President Buhari one resisted the temptation of congratulating him in an open letter published as opinion in a number of national dailies because he still has on hand an unfinished assignment, of leading Nigeria out of the woods, restoring pride in Nigerians, facilitating national cohesion and solidarity and inspiring the spirit of a new Nationalism among Nigerians.

    Now, one can only pity and pray for President Buhari in this arduous task of retrieving Nigeria from a near six-decade odiousness and taking her to the NEXT LEVEL that these imperatives of leading the nation out of the woods imply for the Fourth Republic to endure. President Muhammadu Buhari indeed needs to recruit a vibrant successor generation whose political philosophy will be rooted strictly on merit, service and integrity to champion the ascension of the country on to the Next Level because this might be the last opportunity the nation has for her endurance before the prognosis of “There was once a Nation” is validated.

     

    • Abdulwarees works with Voice of Nigeria, VON.

  • How to take Lagos health sector to next level, by experts

    During a study tour of health facilities in Lagos State, senior executive course participants of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) interacted with stakeholders on how to improve the sector. They commended the state government for making its health insurance scheme mandatory for all residents, reports Associate Editor ADEKUNLE YUSUF.

    Amid the hustle and bustle in Lagos, the delegation  of some senior executive course participants of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) arrived  the state  on a study tour of its health sector.

    The visitors were all united with a mission – how to help the country evolve the best funding arrangement that can make universal healthcare coverage a reality.

    In Lagos, the delegation’s first port of call was the state secretariat in Alausa, where key stakeholders and heads of strategic institutions in the state health sector had converged to brief the visiting public policy experts. The tour was facilitated by NIPSS, in collaboration with the Development Research and Project Centre, (DRPC) through Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health at Scale (PACFaH@Scale).

    During the one-week study tour, the delegation visited the Lagos State UniversityTeaching Hospital (LASUTH) and some primary healthcare centres in Palmgroove, Mushin and Lagos Island before the course participants paid homage at the palace of Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu. The visitors also interacted with civil society organisations that are working in the health sector.

    While explaining the reason behind the trip, Dr. Stanley Ukpai, technical advisor, PACFaH@Scale, said the tour aimed to find out how to strengthen the primary healthcare system to achieve universal health coverage in the state and the challenges militating against this objective. Through the tour, he added, the delegation obtained feedbacks and input from stakeholders and civil society organisations on the challenges and opportunities of working within the primary healthcare system to realise universal health coverage for the teeming population of the state.

    Besides being part of the requisite requirements of the NIPSS course, which thrives on evidence-based research, the study tour was designed to help participants learn more about the intricacies of public policy formulation and implementation and why policies work or fail to deliver set objectives. Depending on the theme of the course, participants are expected to embark on national, continental and intercontinental study tours on any issue deemed critical to the country’s development aspirations with a view to submitting actionable recommendations to the Presidency. This year’s theme, according to Dr. Nasirudeen Usman, leader of the delegation and acting director of studies at NIPSS, focuses on how Nigeria can evolve the best funding arrangement that can bring about universal healthcare coverage in the country.

    The study tour indeed came at an auspicious time, as Lagos gets ready to roll out its mandatory health insurance scheme fully next month. Ahead of the much-awaited launch, Dr. Jide Idris, commissioner for health, told the delegation that technology would be deployed heavily into the scheme to simplify the application process for enrollees, stressing that technology would be vital to the success of the scheme. He stressed that the state government is currently creating awareness and capturing people into the scheme, adding that a reliance on technology will help in the collection of data of those enrolled. “With this technology, many people will be easily captured and they can easily access the scheme through the mobile application,” he said.

    As the law setting up the scheme stipulates, all residents – regardless of their financial or educational status – are expected to be captured by the compulsory scheme, which aims to be the first programme that achieves universal healthcare coverage in the country. No fewer than 120,000 persons have enrolled in the health insurance, though not all are actively enjoying the service for now. He said Lagos is not in a hurry to start full implementation of the scheme to avoid the mistakes that have marred similar initiatives in the country, especially the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), which has failed to achieve universal healthcare coverage because the law setting it up made it optional for the people.

    Having realised that countries that have achieved universal health coverage for their populations are the ones that have successfully implemented mandatory health insurance schemes, many stakeholders in the nation’s health have begun to campaign that state-supported health insurance schemes be made compulsory in order to provide coverage for all citizens. To avoid the pitfalls of NHIS, Lagos has chosen to make the scheme compulsory for all residents. “Countries that have successfully implemented health insurance scheme made it mandatory. Again, in those countries, a lot of money is being pumped into it, and then taxation is high so they can fund it. Our scheme is mandatory for every resident,” Idris added. The delegation commended the state for making the scheme mandatory. “That is the global best practice; you cannot cover the whole population unless you make it mandatory. If we have compulsory insurance for our vehicles, we should be able to have compulsory health insurance for ourselves,” Dr. Usman, who led NIPSS delegation, said.

    The scheme, which was launched with fanfare last December by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, aims to address core issues in healthcare delivery and provide financial protection against illnesses and attendant uncertainties inherent in out-of-pocket payment system. Besides being projected to reduce health issues or mortality rate in the state by at least 10 per cent, it will also deliver significant economic benefits to the state, as the statewide health insurance scheme will empower residents to have access to quality, affordable healthcare services.

    And to enjoy full access to services on offer, all that is required is to pay a premium of N40,000 yearly for a family of six. A family, as defined by the law setting up the scheme, comprises the mother, father and four children below 18 years; while enrolling every additional family member below 18 years attracts N6,000 per person per year. However, if the person is above 18 years, it attracts additional premium of N8,500 per person yearly. For single individuals, it is for N8, 500 per year, but this can be upgraded any time after marriage with additional charges. As for employees in the state public service, the state takes care of 75 per cent of the premium, while each civil servant is expected to pay 25 per cent.

    On what specific items does the health insurance cover, Prof Anthonia Ogbera, provost, Lagos State College of Medicine (LASCOM), told the NIPSS delegation that said it takes care of common adult and childhood ailments, maternal and child services, preventive healthcare services, selected non-communicable diseases and surgeries. She however lamented that poor knowledge of the scheme among residents may be the bane of the new initiative, adding that raising more awareness is the “only way to make many people buy into the scheme.”

    Unlike many states that have eliminated the middlemen called health management organisations (HMOs) in their health insurance schemes, Lagos has vowed to retain them, believing that HMOs have a vital role to play in deepening enrolment of the scheme by selling it directly to the people in all the nooks and crannies of the state. According to Prof Adetokumbo Fabamwo, chief medical director, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), no fewer than 10  HMOs will be engaged for the scheme, with each assigned its catchment areas.

    “Registration is state-wide and that is why we decided to allocate HMOs to certain areas for ease of capture. If an HMO is said to cover Mushin for example, they will go out there and capture all the citizens of the area into the scheme because the higher the enrollees, the higher their capitation fee. If you tell people in Mushin to look for any HMO and join, enrolment will be slow. For the formal sector, we gave them a choice of HMOs to choose, but for informal sector, we allocated HMOs to them so as to achieve one hundred per cent coverage,” he said.

    But Obioma Obikeze, a consultant for DRPC, expressed concern over the payment arrangement for civil servants, stressing that workers at the lowest rung of the ladder will be disadvantaged if every state employee, irrespective of status, pays 25 per cent premium.

    Like Obikeze, doctors in the state insisted there are loopholes in the scheme, saying it cannot succeed under the planned arrangement. Lamenting that the state government did not carry them (doctors) along in the drafting of the document, Dr. Moruf Abdulsalam, publicity secretary, Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) in Lagos, told the delegation that the scheme is fraught with pitfalls, such as low capitation.

    “Even at our national level, we observed that some states are patterning their health scheme on the model of the NHIS, which gives low capitation. Some states want to pay as low as N200, while Lagos is planning to pay N365. If an enrollee under family unit pays N3,333 monthly (40, 000 per annum), the health service providers will only be paid N365 capitation while the bulk of the money goes to HMOs and other administrative fees.

    “The challenge now is that there is increased awareness and enrollees visit hospitals more frequently, at least two or three times in a month. That’s why providers are complaining because there is no way they can make profit and give quality service in this kind of arrangement. To treat simple malaria costs at least N3, 000. Now imagine when an enrollee comes to the facility twice in a month,” he said.

    Besides complaining that the scheme does not allow enrollees to make the choice of HMOs under which they will be enrolled, NMA also faulted the payment arrangement for civil servants, saying it encourages multiple deductions. “A family is supposed to pay N40,000, but what we found in the model for the formal sector where the enrollee pays N10,000 subsidised premium is that if a man and wife are public servants, the fee will be deducted from both of their accounts amounting to double payment because the scheme is mandatory.” He, however, promised that the doctors will work with the government to address the grey areas.

    Oba Akiolu, however, threw his weight behind the delegation’s study tour, saying he was delighted that the focus of the trip was to understand the challenges affecting healthcare delivery system in the state with a view to providing solutions. He expressed optimism that Lagos would benefit from the study tour of the NIPSS delegation.

    Acknowledging that qualitative healthcare system is vital to improved life expectancy, the monarch said government should improve budgetary allocation to the health sector in line with recommendations of the World Health Organisation (WHO), adding that there is a nexus between quality healthcare and economic development.

  • ‘Next Level can’t be achieved by blindly’

    Text of All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwart Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu at a colloquium organised yesterday at the International Conference Centre (ICC), Abuja, as part of activities marking his 67th birthday.

    Next Level is not just a trendy campaign phrase to be quickly discarded once victory has been achieved.

    It has a much deeper and more profound meaning, perhaps even more than its authors contemplated. This is because we are a nation still in the process of defining itself politically and economically.

    In this process, it is tempting and easy to borrow indiscriminately from those nations that seem to have mastered the art of democratic governance and to have achieved economic prosperity.

    However, to achieve durable progress, we can’t afford to work hard but in mindless devotion to the ways of other nations.

    This truth is particularly acute when these very nations now face fundamental political and economic questions that cast doubt on the social utility and viability of the economic model under which they have travelled for the past 50 years.

    The global economy faces stiff headwinds. Factors, not of our making, now cast the world economy towards low growth

    Consumer spending is slipping. Aggregate private debt has attained historic levels. America and China are in a trade tug-of-war. Brexit looms imminent. Whatever form Brexit takes, economic dislocation will emerge from the political confusion now underway.

    Even without Brexit, the European Union (EU) itself has entered a rough patch. The Eurozone may already be in recession. Stock markets experience wild swings that speak to an underlying weakness and pessimism about the immediate future.

    Forecasters are predicting a global recession within the next 12-18 months.

    I render these observations not to frighten anyone but because they ring true. Wisdom requires that we accept reality instead of obscuring it under the cloak of wishful thinking. We must build policies that interact with the world as it is, and not with the world as it should be.

    We must recognise these harsh economic tidings as advance warnings to the wise. Hence, we must think deeper and work harder for our people in Nigeria.

    I would be a most wicked friend if I knew a storm was approaching yet convinced you to ready your family for an outdoor picnic under the tallest tree. The truth is always a more valuable guardian than fantasy.

    Mr. President, you have warned several times that the storm that approaches is not inevitable. It is born of a human folly and reckless greed. This means that it can be rectified by human wisdom and prudential action.

    At this point, we must recognise a fundamental truth of our time. The economic model upon which the world is built is unraveling. The coming downturn is just a symptom of this great upheaval.

    The global economy faces either genuine reform or gathering ruin.

    Because of this, the economic cohesion of Western nations is weakening. Income inequality has reached levels unseen in a century. The middle class in most countries is shrinking.

    Wages stagnate while prices are on a ceaseless march upward.

    In America, progressives champion a Green New Deal – a massive government programme to modernise that nation’s aging energy infrastructure and to create job programs to keep the middle class from becoming an endangered economic species.

    In France, the yellow vests protest the austere policies of the Macron government. The vests have the sympathy of the people.

    Brexit, no matter how misguided, was in large part a primal scream by people who feared the EU was responsible for their diminished economic conditions. The frustrated British would have been more accurate had they pointed the finger at a culprit closer to home – the austerity policies of two consecutive Tory governments.

    People the world over are questioning the centre-right conservative model that has, with few exceptions, governed the world for the last half century. In one form or another, people are protesting the way things are, and progressive politicians are trying to help the people change things for the better.

    The Next Level must be seen as part of this global and historic dynamic.

    Our pursuit of the Next Level cannot be achieved by blindly following the economic path of other nations. That would be tantamount to racing to live in a building just as its long-term occupants were frantically rushing out, screaming that the edifice was mean and crumbling.  If we are smart, we dare not enter.

    Instead, we must construct our Next Level on a progressive ideology and vision that will take our people out of penury, diversify our economy more aggressively, and empower and retrain our youth.

    To be the great nation we purport to be, we must reform and retool our economy according to our definition of what is best for our own people. We cannot assign that duty to anyone else.

    Here, I must ask for a little liberty to amend the fine title of this colloquium: “Work for the people.” We must do more than simply work for the people.

    Government must “work for the people in a way that enables them to better work for themselves.”

    We must amend our basic ideas about the economy.  We must divorce ourselves from our fixation with GDP rates and similar statistics. These things were initially intended to be indicators, suggestive measurements. However, we have misinterpreted these road maps by treating them as if they were the destination itself.

    This has caused us to distort the organic relationship between the people and the economy.

    This dominant train of thought has made the people servants to the dictates of abstract economic theories. In a more effective system, the economy would be fashioned to serve the concrete needs and legitimate aspirations of the people.

    Our economy must be redefined to be an efficient yet moral social construct with the primary goal of optimizing the long-term welfare of the people through the sustained, productive and full employment of labour, land, capital and natural resources.

    In the current global context, the best translation of laissez faire economics is “let’s stay poor” economics.

    To believe that we are at our best when everyone focuses solely on maximising their own position is to believe that one hundred hands can clutch at the same naira note but no one will get scratched.

    To pull the nation from poverty, government must play a decisive role. It must at times direct and even develop markets and opportunities. This is nothing novel. I am only restating what the established economies did when they were young and assumed their trajectories toward growth.

    Yet, how do we organise ourselves to meet this task?

    Like no Nigerian government before, I believe the second administration of President Muhammadu Buhari shall dedicate itself to changing the very structure of our economy for the better.

    The single most important sector for the government’s focus is infrastructure. The most important of our infrastructural demands is power. This has been the greatest discovery of humanity in the last thousand years.

    Power

    Affordable and reliable power will drive the industrialisation that shall provide jobs in our cities and produce needed goods for all our people. In a more poetic rendering, it will take our people out of the dark ages and bring the nation into the light of a better day.

    I believe the second term of the Buhari administration will work to increase electricity generation, transmission and distribution by more than 50 percent within the next four years.

    We require serious and bold reforms to achieve this. What is happening to our gas pipelines? Whatever we have to invest now for our future is a task that must be done boldly. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration shared out generation, distribution and transmission to their friends and cronies without very deep and thoughtful research and evaluation. It has now become pork chops. This privatisation must be revisited. Put experts together for a more constructive reform to improve generation, transmission and distribution by any means necessary. We cannot afford to be too legalistic about this.

    Also, we should push to end the practice of billing people for electricity they never received. This practice is a vestige of the past that should not accompany us into the future.  A person should be charged accurately and only for the power that they use.

    Infrastructure

    The government should continue to aggressively implement its national infrastructure plan. We must commit ourselves to a national highway system linking our major cities and towns, our centres of commerce, with each other. This will save lives, spur commerce, cut costs and bring Nigerians closer together.

    Water catchment and retention systems in strategic locations should also be introduced to end the destructive  cycles of flood and drought affecting  many      areas   .

    In working to transform the face of our economy, government must also enact policies that encourage industrialisation and modern agricultural practices. We must applaud President Buhari for the historic innovations made in the agricultural sector.

    We must further encourage him to do even more. The government funded social security for the aged and government backed affordable housing and mortgage facilities are things we must continue to explore in an aggressive manner.

    In the end, our future is uncertain until we enter it and make of it what we will. We can either let the future happen to us or summon the courage to make the future belong to us as other nations have done.

    I don’t think we really have a choice in the matter. We must take the people to the next level. It is a promise made and thus a promise that must be kept.

    Our goal is nothing less than enabling people to enjoy lives free of penury and lack. We seek to constitute a nation where all have basic sustenance and sufficient food on their tables, a sturdy and sheltering roof over their heads and the fair chance and means to sustain and further enrich their lives as they see fit.  Let it be that all may live in social contentment and tranquillity with his neighbour as well as with himself. This is what we mean by the Next Level.

    Thank you for this wonderful birthday present you have given me. I have been enriched and energised by the intellectual exchange. I hope that you have too. Now, let’s move on to the Next Level.

     

     

  • Buhari not an orator but action man, says Osinbajo

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said President Muhammadu Buhari may not be an orator but he has a track record of getting things done.

    Osinbajo said this while representing the President at the 11th Bola Tinubu Colloquium at the International Conference Centre on Thursday in Abuja.

    Osinbajo described Tinubu as an astute politician whose political achievements only very few Nigerians can boast of.

    The event, which was tagged “Next Level”, is a yearly programme to commemorate the birthday of the APC leader and former Governor of Lagos State.

    Tinubu, while addressing the gathering joked that the Vice President is “talented but evasive”.

    Read also: How Tinubu led ACN to reclaim lost states in 2007, by Osinbajo

    He commended the current administration efforts and called on Nigerian s to cooperate with the government in moving the country to the next level.

    Tinubu said that the phrase “Next-Level” is not just a political slogan but a call to action for change and development of Nigeria.

    The event was graced by dignitaries from all spheres of the life including members of the federal executive council and the National Assembly, Royal Fathers, Governors and members of the public.

  • Buhari, corruption and next to ‘next level’

    On March 2019, the Financial Times of London, in an editorial, opined that Nigeria under President Buhari is performing far lesser than its potential.

    The UK based newspaper urged the Buhari administration to make amends in his second term, else he risks “going down in history as a general who should have stayed in His barracks”.

    What can be more desperate or is corruption fighting back? The paper accused the President of “Lack of perceived economic clear-cut policy directions”.

    This is a loud protest, accompanied with economic undertones, coming from decades-long beneficiaries of Nigeria’s stolen commonwealth, who have weaponised their frustrations to attack and discredit an elected foreign government in a bid to create relevance for their in-country accomplices.

    No doubt, the sustained fight on corruption by Buhari’s administration has shaken and frayed the very fabric of these syndicates that could only use foreign illicit funds to finance their economy, robbing the country of its economic potential.

    This can be adduced to a report on March 4 by the Guardian Newspaper London in an editorial, where the paper berates the UK government for withdrawing a bill presented by the Foreign affairs select committee that called on the Minister to demonstrate “political leadership in ending the flow of dirty money into the UK”. The paper went ahead and concluded that the action of the UK government “reveals that it still prefers a global regime underpinned not by strong but weak international regulations”.

    Clearly, it is why the Sasquatches, the King Kongs and the Ghouls dwell and  glut with no conscience.

    Over the last three years since the ERGP and fast forward to the “Next Level”, the people of this country downshifted, hard as it is, to keep pace with the transition, as the macroeconomic indices of the nation steadily gets reconfigured, emerging from negative to positive and now heading to double-digits and springing up businesses that lift millions of Nigerians out of poverty and onto economic growth.

    The economic policy directions the FT accused this government of lacking is the very effective fiscal policy tool used to suffocate the illicit activities of their paymasters and retained the money to work for our economy.

    With appropriate mix of fiscal instruments, the FG has achieved efficient distributive objective in a manner that is consistent with fiscal sustainability in progressive spending on conditional cash transfers for social safety nets, building infrastructures, improving security and financing Agriculture.

    It would not be less of a truth for The Financial Times to wake up to, more so make clear to their paymasters, that Nigeria is set on an irreversible processes of transformative economic reconfiguration. The rail lines for movement of essential goods from one end to the other, the cash transfers, power, in-kind benefits and cutting less progressive spending etc.

    The President’s team has set a policy that changed the gear-select, the cruise mode and turned the policy direction of the  country’s commonwealth to operate within its rightful time zone. The policy is a complete representation of the International Monetary Fund’s policy on fiscal consolidation for income redistribution in developing economies.

    The International Monetary Fund has long recognized the nexus between income distribution and fiscal policy. In the late 1980s there was growing recognition and discussion of the potential effects of macroeconomic and structural adjustment programmes  on poverty and inequality.

    These discussions highlighted the importance of social safety nets to protect the poor and safeguard their access to essential public  services such as primary education and healthcare. The Fund also expanded its analytical work in  this area, drawing on contributions from leading academics.

    The growing attention of the Fund to the impact of fiscal policy on the poor was also reflected in the creation of the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (later PRGT), which emphasised  the importance of  pro-poor government  budgets. More recently, the work on fiscal policy and equity was revived and subsequently broadened to cover jobs and growth.

  • Buhari to Traditional Rulers: Support fight against criminality

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday welcomed traditional rulers in the country to the “Next Level”, urging them to be prepared to play a crucial role in the prevention and detection of criminal activities in their domains.

    The President’s spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, said Buhari made the call when he received members of the National Council of Traditional Rulers led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, at State House, Abuja.

    The President noted that involving the royal fathers had become necessary in view of the deep knowledge of their localities.

    “You know all the families who harbour criminals and you know those who produce respectable individuals. You know the weaknesses of our society.

    “We need your support to consolidate our achievements,’’ he said.

    President Buhari listed several efforts by his administration to enhance national security while emphasising the need for stability in the country.

     “What we need now is your support. No government can serve creditably without your support. We will always count on your support,” he told the traditional rulers.

    The President also welcomed the royal fathers to his “second and final term, at the end of which I will, God willing, go to Daura and settle down.”

    The Sultan of Sokoto and Chairman of the Council, told President Buhari that the leadership of the council was in the presidential villa to congratulate and felicitate with him over his re-election, on behalf of all the Traditional Rulers in Nigeria.

    While urging Nigerians to accept the election result as the will of God, the Sultan assured the president of the traditional rulers’ continued support in the execution of his administration’s laudable projects.

    He said the council would particularly support ‘’the government’s cardinal objectives of fighting corruption, containing insecurity, generally sanitizing the governance machinery, entrenching discipline, hard work and peaceful co-existence amongst the citizenry.’’

    The Co-Chairman of the Council and Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi Ojaja II, assured Buhari that their members would work closely with his administration to fight criminal activities.

    The Ooni urged the re-elected Nigerian leader to be a president for the whole nation and father to all citizens.(NAN)

  • Osinbajo: APC will take Nigeria to Next Level

    Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday visited the first Executive Governor of Lagos State, Alhaji Lateef Jakande, at his Ilupeju home in Mushin Local Government Area.

    The vice-president, who held a closed-door meeting with the former governor and his family, was in Lagos for the continuation of his door-to-door campaign ahead of the forthcoming general elections.

    He was accompanied by the state’s All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, House of Representatives Majority Leader Femi Gbajabiamila, Senator Ganiyu Solomon and the Speacial Adviser (SA) to the President on Political Matters, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, among others.

    The vice-president was ushered into Jakande’s home by a huge crowd of party supporters in APC uniform.

    They chanted the praises of President Muhammadu Buhari and Prof Osinbajo.

    Solomon, who addressed reporters on the visit, said APC was sure of victory, despite the blackmail by its traducers.

    The senator said Nigerians have seen the party’s performance in the last four years, adding that its people-oriented programmes have endeared the party to the people.

    According to him, despite the performance of the APC, its candidates have been campaigning vigorously to showcase the party’s achievements and convince the electorate to vote for continuity.

    Osinbajo also visited some party leaders in Mushin and major markets in Mushin and Surulere local government areas.

    In Surulere, Osinbajo said APC will take Nigeria to greater heights.

    He urged the electorate to vote massively for the party in the February 16 and March 2 elections.

    “APC is taking Nigeria higher and higher. We are not stopping. Our country is going higher. Come February 16, vote for APC,” he said.

    The vie-president also urged Nigerians to vote for all APC candidates in the February 16 and March 2 polls.

    Also, Gbajabiamila urged party members to unite and work for its success in the forthcoming elections.

    Sanwo-Olu said: “On February 16 and March 2, let us make sure we vote for APC because APC is going to take us to the Next Level. We are going higher and higher. We should also vote for President Buhari, Gbajabiamila and Desmond Elliot.”

     

     

     

  • ‘Let’s move to the next level’

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial candidate for Osun Central, Ajibola Basiru, has urged Nigerians to start the New Year on a positive note by moving to the next level with the party.

    Basiru, in his New Year message, congratulated the people of Osun and Osun Central in particular on successful completion of the year 2018 and the start of 2019.

    He said: “We have to thank God for using the APC to rescue Nigeria from 16 years of infrastructural decay and moral decadence foisted on us by political gangsterism of the opposition. Although we are still struggling with the Domino effect of the rape of the nation, we must all join hands with the APC-led administration of President Muhammadu Buhari as he tries to take us to the next level and forget the rots of the past.”

    The former Osun State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice reminded the people that 2019 is an election year, and urged them to vote all APC candidates in order to sustain the pace of development.

    He assured the people that the Governor Isiaka Oyetola-led administration would move to the next level of infrastructure development and prioritise workers’ welfare.

    The candidate thanked his supporters for their enthusiasm towards ensuring his victory at the poll. He urged them to be decorous in their activities.

  • Firm promises to take tourism to next level

    THE Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Jands Travel Network, Chioma Obi has expressed confidence that Nigeria would witness a tremendous boost in tourism next year.

    She told a group of tourists recently in Enugu that the company has embarked on an aggressive expansion programme and collaborative initiatives that will see it deliver top-of-the-range travel and tour services to Nigerians and travelers all over the world.

    According to her, “Our strategic action plan will galvanize Nigeria’s tourism, improve her service delivery and effectiveness in critical sectors of the industry.”

    Jands Travel Network, a subsidiary of Premium Jands Limited, is a leading name in the travel and tours sector of Nigerian economy dedicated to delivering quality service that ensures delightful travel experience to customers.

    It specializes in flight reservations, ticketing, tour packaging, hotel reservations, guided tours, holidays/vacations, and consultancy.

  • The next level after Ogbeni’s eight years in Osun

    Undoubtedly, the credit for the creation of the new Osun will be shared between Ogbeni and the civil servants that made huge sacrifice of either receiving part of their salary for years or forgoing promotion and other benefits of service.

    Notwithstanding this sour point, Ogbeni is driven by his deep love for Osun and the desire to improve the state and leave a legacy. He is the first governor to consciously focus on the burning issue of socio-economic inequality.

    Successive governments, both at the federal and sub-national levels have always focused on what is in the interest of the few elite. Ogbeni’s programmes and projects are economic catalysts that have a huge potential to continue to stimulate the economy of the state to the benefit of all stakeholders.

    It is therefore not surprising that the most recent report from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has ranked Osun as the state with the lowest poverty index in the country, one of the five states with lowest unemployment rate by NBS and the second richest state in Nigeria by the United Nations’ Multi-Dimensional Poverty Index last year.

    The GDP of Osun has grown by almost 110 per cent within eight years despite all the challenges faced. The tax base has been raised by more than 500 per cent possibly the highest in Nigeria. The result of this can only begin to manifest in the next level. These are no mean achievements especially when one considers the fact that Osun is not an oil-producing state.

    Ogbeni has, indeed done the heavy lifting. He has laid the foundation for the revolution of the education sector in Osun State through the rehabilitation of schools.

    Personally, Ogbeni’s biggest legacy is in the area of massive investment in education. With the construction of over 180 new schools, comprising 21 elementary schools with 531 classrooms; 30 middle schools with 570 classroom blocks; and High School blocks of 792 classrooms, the foundation has been laid for Osun to be the international market for quality human capital.

    Over 200,000 students of indigent parents are learning under inspiring environments which many of the high fee-paying private schools don’t have the benefit of.

    In the new world, the learning environment must be conducive for good teaching and learning as a first step. All other necessities can be built on the world-class education infrastructure in place and this include high quality education curriculum. The new schools are provided air conditioners in the classrooms, the teachers’ offices look like corporate offices. The state also provided 50,000 learning tablets (Opon-imo) for final year students.

    That these were achieved in a state which has large agrarian economy and rural dwellers with little or no tax liability is commendable. The people of Osun are mainly farmers, traders, and artisans with a large number in the civil service.

    The journey has not been easy. Indeed, the new administration has a big shoe to step into, but the new governor, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola is also a man of high intellectual quality and a leader with the greater good in mind.

    The foundation laid by Ogbeni requires creative ingenuity to take to the next level which the new governor has in abundance. The next level in Osun State is one of economic prosperity, enhancement of human capital, inflow of investment to the state and industrialisation.

    At the next level Osun should be well rated in terms of the quality of students and human resources in general which will include highly articulate, intelligent and aggressive youthful population.

    Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola is well positioned to take Osun to the next level being an integral part of Ogbeni’s administration. He has the ability to see more than many others will see, he sees farther than many others see and sees before others see. He would need the support of all stakeholders in the state to take Osun to the next level.

    Much appreciation goes to ex-governor Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola for what he has done in Osun State. You came, you saw, and you conquered. The difference between a good and bad leader lies in the number of obstacles removed from the path to development.

    You have removed big obstacles towards the transformation of Osun State and prepared Osun well. It is ready to move to the next level. May your next level be more glorious too, Ogbeni. You remain unforgettable.

    • Concluded.

     

    • Adaba writes from Osogbo