In a bid to declutter my mind after Friday’s grueling Board Meeting, I decided to enumerate a number of things I will like implemented or changed in Nigeria…the Nigeria I desire. The list is not exhaustive but when I was done I realized that some of my thoughts are outright ridiculous, some strategic while others are somewhere in between.
So guys, devoid of APC vs PDP blamestorming (please no Buhari, Tinubu or GEJ mentions here) if you were elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria today, what are some of the strategic and pedestrian things that you will like to implement / change…find my list below;
1. Make it easier for traffic offenders to pay the requisite fine. Simply issue a ticket (you can withhold the offenders Drivers’ License to be released against evidence that the fine has been paid). No more ‘Oga you wan make we go station open ‘docket’ for you? You know say our people no dey work for Saturday na im be say your moto go sleep for station this whole weekend…Oya settle us…find us something make you dey go?”
2. Prohibit soliciting / begging by security personnel. This includes soliciting by our Immigration Officers at the various airports / border points of entry. No more “Yellow broda, Fine broda, anything for the boys (your people)?”, “Give us something to take buy Ice Water abeg?”
3. Our legal tender (the Naira and Kobo) is a store of value that extinguishes debt but the vehicle, the note/coins itself belongs to Federal Government consequently dancing on notes or spraying of notes should be treated as an abuse / destruction of public property and criminalized. If you want to ‘spray’ then ‘spray’ the funds into the intended beneficiaries account.
4. Funerals are a big part of our various cultures however no corpse should be buried without an accompanying burial certificate that states the cause of death (this implies an autopsy). ‘Witches and Wizards’ will not be allowed as a legal cause of death.
5. Urban planning for Cities / Towns with clearly designate religious / commercial zones (including zones where Petrol Stations are tolerated)/ Agriculture zones. No need to disrupt other people’s mobility because you want to worship or trade or to pose a fire hazard to the rest of society because you want to sell fuel. Farmland should be protected to ensure food security.
6. Health insurance should be mandatory, possibly subsidized by the federal /state governments. This should directly and indirectly catalyze modern health infrastructure and skills acquisition by ensuring guaranteed effective offtake as the medical industry will be able to recoup the significant investments required to take our Medicare infrastructure to international standards.
7. Not for Profit religious bodies should be tax exempt however Religious bodies that engage in commercial activities (for profit) that directly compete with non-religious bodies should be taxed appropriately.
8. Religious bodies should be ‘owned’ by a Board of Trustees (who hold ownership in trust for the members) not by an Individual. ‘Substance over form’ the Board of Trustees must represent the members and not Daddy/Mummy GO, Pastor / Prophet / Iman, Sheik / Calip / Chief Babalawao / Onye Isi Alusi etc. The right Corporate Governance framework should be enforced to ensure that the Board of Trustees has the power to suspend or sack the GO/pastor /Prophet / Imman / Caliph / Chief Babalawao / Onye Isi Alusi etc.
9. Get citizens (especially the youth) more involved in the civic life and health of their communities, celebrate individuals, ordinary people who have identified problems in our society and developed solutions to tackle those problems.
10. Recognize, inspire and activate volunteerism and public service amongst ordinary people in communities, workplaces and schools across Nigeria.
11. Ensure that no State Governor is uses public resources to acquire a Private Jet of any type or form unless they Governor can prove that his State has at least five standard airports / airstrips that can be covered by air travel backed by a visitation itinerary approved by the State House of Assembly. For clarity sake, neither Abuja, London, Johannesburg, New York or Washington are considered as part of their States. Lagos is considered as part of the itinerary of the Governor of Lagos State alone.
12. Civil Servants and Public Office holders to declare their assets before assuming office and the remuneration / income from the new office declared. During or Post their tenor / stay in office, any assets acquired that is above their known income must be forfeited to the state and the individual tried before the courts. For the avoidance of doubt, a State’s security vote will not constitute part of a State Governor’s income, the same applies to Our Representatives and funds for Constituency projects.
13. Just like we used to have in the days of the Agric Produce parastatals, various Agric Produce Boards (or a sole player) to be set up as an aggregator and bulk off-taker of all Cash Crops from Industrial and Subsistence farmers and will serve to provide both fertilizer and seeds to the farmers. This ensures a guaranteed offtake for every harvest and will serves as a platform for capacity developments and strategic input for the farmers.
14. In an environment of mutual ethnic, regional and religious suspicion and fear of private / state militia, ‘State Police’ may be premature however, States should be allowed to fund Law Enforcement infrastructure they believe are lacking in their jurisdictions and for which the Federal Government has not made any provision. Tis includes a ‘Cost of Living’ Allowance (above the remuneration from the Centre) for Law Enforcement Officers in their states. Such assets will belong to the State Government and vacancies in the Nigeria Police Force in such states should be advertised such that States that have invested in their Law Enforcement can attract the best skills and brains not just in the Nigeria Police Force but from within the Nigerian populace as well. This could be a test-run for the much touted ‘confederacy’ as a solution.
15. Tertiary Institutions and their Alumni in collaboration with the private sector to be encouraged to set up endowment funds to fund research in our Universities and Polytechnics. We need to start treating our tertiary institutions as the bedrock of research, education and development as well as business ventures as against just developmental and education ventures. This will also encourage our Tertiary Institutions to retain their best and brightest, natural research fellows, rather than losing such people to the telecommunications, banking and oil and gas sectors of the economy.
16. A revitalized Federal Mortgage Bank (or a successor institution) with the sole responsibility to act as a Bulk Purchaser of Mortgages from the Primary Mortgage Institutions (PMIs). Investors will include the Federal Government, The Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, State Governments etc.
17. Abrogate ‘State of Origin’ for ‘State of Residence’ (with clearly defined parameters that qualifies one as a resident) as the indigene vs Settler culture has been one of the greatest undoing’s of our Nation.
18. Focus on increasing the Civil Service’s productivity, the Country’s ‘bloated’ Recurrent Expenditure will not have had such a negative impact if there was commensurate revenue generated as economies of scale and scope will have kicked in. In the same vein strike a balance between Social Projects and economic projects’
While I’m still thinking of more interventions….okay guys, oya add your own. Remember that this is not about blaming present or past Governments. Can we all agree that anyone on this thread who focuses on blaming others is an empty vessel (i.e. an Olodo, Ewu-Town-Council) who has no value to add to himself or others?
Oya na…
Jekwu Ozoemene
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