Nigeria is a country with much great potential. One such potential is population size. We just happen to have a voice in the world congress just by size alone and not by any economic, cerebral or political genius. But size can be a liability if not properly sustained. Nigeria’s size has turned into a liability because the member nations are so fractionalized by self interest. Today, Nigeria is not one nation but an alliance of reluctant nations. Our interests vary from religion, to tribal interests with several other miniature interests in between. Every Nigerian knows the problem of Nigeria. What we lack is how to tackle it. The father of all Nigerian challenges is corruption; the mother is injustice. All the other challenge we have are children of this couple. So, if I were president, this is how I would address the challenges:

AMASSING OF WEALTH
1. I would ensure no one is allowed to move freely who cannot account for every kobo he claims to own. Nearly every Nigerian is guilty in this regard. We celebrate the rich without asking how they got rich. So when the youths see that the end will justify the means, we have youths who would not want to work hard anymore. Let’s note that persons between the ages of 13 and 40 (youths) account for roughly over 60% of our population. Most of these are jobless, out of school or lack access to fair opportunities. So, our youngsters buy results in schools, ride okada (instead of learning and practicing some trade) while others go into brazen daylight robbery. This lesson is learnt easily when we see the likes of Farouk Lawan getting away with a crime having 160 million witnesses without anyone saying ‘hey stop there.’ This practice has also permeated the holy places. The clergies simply ignore the weak and celebrate the high and mighty. This is sad indeed. Anyone willing to serve in any official capacity would be compelled not just to declare their assets but to also give a statement of earnings/income which MUST be verified long before you are allowed to even pick a nomination form or appointed to any office.

RETIREES
2. Let me address the older citizens who account for roughly another 20%. I would ensure that every retiree has his benefits paid into his or her account before the 30th day of each month. I would also make sure that social workers carry out the necessary verification once a year by visiting them at home rather than disrespecting them by having them travel long distances and spending long hours on queues designed to cut short their lives. The youths in the first category have seen how they will end up if they don’t steal enough to cater for themselves in old age. So, many steal not because they want to but because they have seen that we live in a jungle where only the fittest is allowed to survive.

PUBLIC FUND WASTAGES
3. I would ensure that every government official from the LGA to the federal level patronizes public schools, hospitals and other similar institutions. We all, including Mr. President will fly public airlines (British officials do). Even if the Nigerian official can afford private schools, hospitals or chartered jets, I will forbid their doing so until they leave office (including myself). The alternative will be to resign. At most, I can ensure that the public school being attended by most children of the public officials are highly secured with necessary personnel and gadgets. Also, none will be allowed to school abroad. If anyone does so secretly and the news filters to me, such an official will be relieved of duty and ridiculed. In Nigeria today, even state governors maintain private jets and their wives move around town in fleets of cars numbering at least five at a time. This is a colossal waste and no one is bothering to question the practice. The amount leaving the shores of this country in terms of forex to pay for foreign education is alarming. It is in excess of billions of dollars. These sums can transform the educational system of Nigeria.

RELIGION
4. I would de-emphasize religion. Religion has been a major fault line in the Nigerian society. Yet, religion is merely an opinion and everyone is entitled to his/her own. Everyone would have a right to practice his/her religion but that is it. Religion will remain a private affair and nothing more than that. No one would be allowed to foist his beliefs on others. Preaching of any kind would be allowed but forceful conversions to any religion would be regarded as an act of terrorism. Also, government has no business sponsoring crowds on holy pilgrimages to Mecca or Jerusalem. Churches are meant to be non-profit organizations. Any profit in excess of their running cost will be taxed. Sharia or any other form of extremism will have no place in my country. Anything short of peaceful practice of individual belief will be visited with a vehement clamp down. Clergies would need to obtain a practicing license (this is done in the USA). Practicing without license would be prosecutable under law.

DISTRIBUTION OF POLITICAL POWER
5. I would reduce the power at the centre (federal) and shed some of my powers to the different units. In other words, I would make the centre less attractive than it is now so that all the different parts of the country will stop fighting to get there because the action will now be in their respective home states. I would set the LGAs free from the state governors also. I would ensure that power is closer to the common man than it is today. I would also ensure that the resources from each state are spent in each state and maybe just a fraction (say 10% tentatively) will be remitted to the centre to run the centre and the judiciary. The main business of the federal government will be the administration of the federating units as well as foreign policy. If any state is poorer than others or in any economic distress, i could put mechanisms in place to get them loans from richer states but there would no longer be free lunches or handout or allocations. No way. Free money leads to wastage. From my 1st day in office, I would drive fiscal responsibility and accountability. The oil producing states would be free to keep their oil though they may be charged higher on what would be remitted to the centre. Other states that used to produce groundnut would be encouraged to go back to agriculture. After all, the pre-independence Nigerian economy was run effectively on agriculture money and it can still happen. I am one of the few who believe the north can actually do well if Nigeria should break up (God forbid). The entire soup pot (tomatoes, onions, meat etc) comes from up north. The south-south cannot drink oil, neither can they keep importing food (since they have no farmlands, most of which has been polluted by oil exploitation activities). If the centre is less attractive, our political terrain will be less volatile and the tribal gaps will close up; peace will reign in Nigeria.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NIGERIA. TO BE CONTINUED.

it is easier said than done, jonathan talk pass dis just imarjine the fresh air

124mumsy: it is easier said than done, jonathan talk pass dis just imarjine the fresh air

@124mumsy. It would amaze you to know how clueless some persons seating in our governments are. Even Mr. Jonathan who sits in public office but thinks asset declaration is a private matter. He also had the effrontery to say so on national TV. I tell you, Nigerians have become lethargic to have swallowed that. Did u watch the Ondo state guber debate? then you would know what am saying. This post is meant to open a thread on identifying the how to solve Naija's problems. we all know the problems. how to solve it is the biggest one.

Your post said "TEN" what happened to the other five?

If i were president i would.

1. Approve govt backed low interest micro-finance loans (N100K-N500K)for local budding businesses. Like scholarships for school only this time addressed to businesses).
2. Make local regions manufacturing hubs for international businesses by slashing taxes and other incentives.
3. Attracting international venture capital by tax, policy, support incentives (i.e we would meet some of any loss they incur).
4. There is no need to break my back trying to fix infrastructure (power, roads, transport, etc) alone. The rot in the system is bone deep. I would privatise almost every project with govt playing a supervisory role. You’ll see the speed of improvements in Nigeria.
Unlike govt, private companies will have deadlines, competition, penalties that would insure they deliver. They will also have to train and employ local labour, as necessity and imposition, this leads to development and free flow of capital.

All d people criticizing govt will not contribute in dis thread like Demdem and d rest...They only ravage on post dat demean d office of govt and d country.

TEN THINGS I WOULD DO IF I WERE THE PRESIDENT OF NIGERIA (CONTINUED)

6.OIL SECTOR
The black gold has become the curse of Nigeria rather than a blessing because everyone is striving to outdo each other in stealing as much as they can. The dignity of labour has been eroded as most people seek free allocations just like the Ijaw hooligans/militants. If I am president, i would ensure the Niger-deltans have full control of their resources. They can sell to the rest of us but I guess that since they mostly have no skilled labour and depend on other tribes and nationalities to exploit it for them, I am of the opinion that they would soon realize that wealth comes with responsibilities. Furthermore, I will ensure that not a single drop of oil is imported until new refineries have been erected in strategic locations. The suffering might last for the duration of the construction (about 9 months) but it would be worth every minute of it. Currently, Nigeria cannot call itself an oil producing nation because only finished products count towards a nation’s GDP. Presently, we are net importers of oil and not producers which is a shame to us. Countries like France have no oil but are the leading well and subsurface engineers. They own large oil corporations like ELF which they use to sell output of their technology to lazy brains like us. Britain also does not have natural resources but they have the best command of the oceans around them and have the best navy and cargo transport for wasters like us who like to import lace, cars and other stuff we don’t need. These western powers gave us independence when they saw that we asked for it but they always knew we would still surrender our independence back to them, only this time, it would be willingly and foolishly. Today, Africa is nearly 100% subservient to the west. This is secondary slavery and no one’s fault but ours. It can be corrected.

7. RESEARCH AND EDUCATION
The only reason, apart from contract inflation and corruptible tendencies, why our government rely heavily on expatriates is because they do not believe in the recommendations coming from our ivory towers. They believe it has to be WHITE to be RIGHT. It is an inferiority complex. Today, Julius Berger is still the number 1 construction firm. Shell, the leading oil firm. Even headaches are treated in western hospitals. If i am president, i would give societal problems to the egg heads to propound solutions and rely heavily on them. I will make them know that i am ready to sail or sink based on their advice. It took an Albert Einstein from Princeton University who wrote to President Harry S. Truman about a new invention (the A-bomb). This was what ended the 6-year 2nd world war in a matter of weeks. It took J.F. Kennedy going on air to announce that he would place man on the moon before a certain date to commit his scientists to meet the deadline. Today, all Nigerian leaders do is race to see who can steal the most or who can rule us for the longest number of years. If the higher institutions of learning are tasked and well funded, they can be put on their toes and soon we would realize that necessity is the mother of inventions.

8. JUSTICE DISPENSATION
It is unjust for the likes of Farouk, IBB and OBJ to be moving around leisurely while someone accused of stealing a goat (and who is probably innocent) is yet to see a judge in 5 years and yet they are remanded under inhuman conditions. The justice system has to be re-defined. I will strive to make sure that all citizens answer to just one law – the same law. While i would respect past elder statesmen, i would not hesitate to try the past leaders based on public outcry while ensuring speedy justice delivery system in all cases. Also, the prisons would become institutions where the inmates would be made to learn trades that would help them contribute to society when they leave. Many individuals are criminals not because they want to but because they have no requisite skill, opportunity and funding. This will be part and parcel of the justice system because no one is really secure from criminals until the society upholds the rule of law. Furthermore, it would amaze anyone how well behaved Nigerians can be outside the country: obeying traffic laws and staying on queue. Once the same set of people enter Naija and they just breathe in the air of this place, it’s as if a spirit enters them and you begin to see James Bond style driving, cursing and other forms of recklessness. Fashola has demonstrated a good example but his subservience to Tinubu is his handicap. I would prefer a leader who fears no living being except God.

9. DATA WAREHOUSING
One of the greatest problems I have identified with our nation is lack of information or reliable data on sensitive issues. This has seriously hampered our collective and individual decision making capacities. With the current ICT age, criminals shouldn't be getting away with brazen crimes such issuing dud cheques, robbing banks without wearing masks, crossing of borders by aliens without visa and smuggling with impunity. Our voting system should also have been computerized to such an extent that i should be able to vote anywhere without fear of duplication. After all, i know i can’t empty my bank account at different bank branches without being found out. So why can’t we adapt the same banking technology to other aspects of our lives? This then leads me to the tenth agenda.

10. SECURITY
Billions of dollars, aside from thousands of lives, have been lost due to insecurity. The past and present governments have failed Nigerians woefully in this regard. However, I believe that if the 9 items enumerated above are fully addressed, the security challenges would have dropped by 50%. Currently, each household in Nigeria has its own police force (gateman/me-guard). They have their own water corporation (boreholes). They have their own power generation (generators powered by fuel). They even do their own roads and drainage these days. No wonder Nigerians don’t expect anything anymore from their leaders and little wonder the politicians help themselves to resources meant for these things. This is how I would tackle the outstanding security issues: the police, which are the primary custodian of security, would be appreciated more for their efforts. I realize Nigerian policemen can be effective when well equipped and appreciated. I would let them realize that if anyone of them dies on duty, their children would be fully sponsored to tertiary level on government account. Their lives will be insured by a reputable insurance firm and would ensure that their country would not forget them- ever. I would also let them know that if they collect just N20 and i hear it, they will lose the job and get prosecuted. The security rescue lines would be kept active. Also, all phone call data will be kept to monitor time interval between distress calls and police, firemen, NEMA response time. This will help ensure an effective system. In the absence of NEPA infrastructure, i would sub-contract the CCTV camera technology that would monitor our highways and streets to telecom companies who may use the same generator used to power their base stations to power the street cameras.

I would leave the next government to tackle infrastructure problem (such as water, energy and roads) which would require a stable environment to put in place. My own contribution would be the changing of the average Nigerian's paradigm.

HAPPY 52ND INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY