Buhari And A New Nigeria By Etcetera

I wasn’t born in 1960. So, I have no memories of the
euphoria of the first Independence Day. My early
memories of independence are the celebrations in the
small government school I attended. My well starched and
ironed school uniform, national flags made of paper,
singing the National Anthem, and a speech by the
headmistress were the highlights. In my final year, I was
allowed to pin a small flag on my shirt and hold a slightly
bigger one in front of the school because I was a school
prefect. Those were proud moments! Even after so many
years, the pride still remains. It is totally different today.
Back then, it was more about Nigeria, our country! There
was nationalism all around. Even as young kids, there
was unflinching commitment to the country. Reading
Chinua Achebe and Cyprian Ekwensi was a passion. I was
told so many times by my father that the first few images
of post-independent Nigeria weren’t of food shortages,
poverty, hunger, inadequacy of almost everything. There
was hope!
Where are we after 55 years, and where do we intend to
go? As I listened to Buhari’s speech yesterday, I felt
sorry for Nigeria. How did we get here? Everything in
Nigeria has changed and, in many ways, changed for the
worst. We still see poverty everywhere we turn. We are
still worried whether the next ship will bring enough food.
We are a country floating on crude oil yet we wake up
every morning to fuel scarcity, wondering whether we
have enough money in our pockets to buy fuel for our
generators and cars for the next day. Although our choice
of cars is no longer limited to the Peugeot 504 and the
Tortoise cars our parents cruised in the 60s, and we may
not live in a black and white TV era with just one channel
anymore, and there are no more long queues at telephone
booths, does that give us comfort? Have we progressed?
No. We still have to solve our more complex problems to
move forward and we are impatient. We are still looking
to developed countries for aid or to the World Bank for
more loans. We are still not confident enough or ready to
take on the world.
What are the things Buhari needs to do and urgently too?
1: Contain divisive forces and actions. We seem to divide
ourselves in the name of tribe, region, religion, group, sub-
group, constituencies, and we never unite in times of
crisis. There are a number of external forces which may
not want Nigeria to become developed and powerful.
These forces are creating difficulties both inside and
outside the country. They predicted our disintegration in
2015 and they almost made sure it happened. We must
differentiate our enemies from our allies. It is also very
important that, as a multi-cultural society, we learn to
live and grow together and to resolve our differences
through dialogue within ourselves and not external
influences. Any form of violence, for any reason
whatsoever, should be avoided. Instead of expecting the
government to solve all our problems, let the civil society
take its role seriously and do its bit. The large majority of
Nigerians want to get on with their lives in peace. This
majority needs to assert its presence.
2: Release the energy of Nigeria’s youth to generate
growth and prosperity. Take a look at any young man or
woman in Nigeria today, you are sure to find that unusual
level of confidence, a confidence to take up a challenge to
better the best in any part of the world they find
themselves. They are willing to work extra hours, learn
new things, and innovate. It is this confidence and the
attitude of “Naija no dey carry last” that is Nigeria’s most
valuable capital today. We need to support this with the
best quality education, infrastructure and training and
research facilities, be it in the private or public sector.
Nigerian youths shouldn’t be entangled with issues of
language or religion. They should be focused on their
careers and their growth, which will in turn be Nigeria’s
growth.
3: Get the infrastructure right. Young Nigerians are
becoming impatient, and rightly so. They want to get
going. Inadequate infrastructure, whether it is physical or
social, is holding them back. Roads, power, basic services
like water and sanitation, social infrastructure like
healthcare, education need urgent attention if we want
this country to grow. Many of these could come through
private sector investment, innovation and efficiencies. The
government will still play a major role both in terms of
providing funds, encouraging investments and ensuring
regulation. Instead of focusing on irrelevant issues, we
need to focus on quality and cost of services.
4: Fight inefficiency and corruption. We are all worried
about corruption. But when it comes to standing up
against corruption, we have failed. Buhari must deter
Nigerians from further engaging in corrupt practices by
making scapegoats. He has to start by appointing only
credible people into his cabinet. They must be
discouraged from looting the treasury. If you ask me, I
will suggest that Goodluck Jonathan’s government should
be probed and those found guilty of corrupt practices
should be sent to Kirikiri. All forms of corruption are bad,
but it is only the bigger cases that we pay attention to,
forgetting that the petty corruption is just as cancerous.
It affects the poor more and makes life miserable for the
average Nigerian. The civil society needs to stand up and
force the change we have all been clamouring for. Luckily,
we now have the Freedom of Information Bill which is an
effective tool in the hands of the Nigerian citizen to
ensure transparency. If Aba manufacturers are
empowered, we do not need technology from outside, we
just need the will to change age-old and opaque
processes. Society needs to make its demand for this
change loud and clear.