A contribution by policy analyst and aviation safety expert to Platforms Africa’s ‘Helping the Government to Succeed Series
Simply put, success can be individualistic as it is a personal thing. However, it could be perceived from the areas of goal attainment, achieving a personal desired outlay, vision, and aspirations. Essentially, it has to do with fulfilment, satisfaction, and emotional balancing with progress in various forms of life.
Consequently, just as it is very important in understanding a mentee’s capacity before rendering any assistance, so also, it is very imperative to put into proper perspectives certain fundamentals before delving into this subject matter. These have to do with the vision, ideology, and adopted strategic patterns of the ruling government. Let’s first x-ray this present government along these lines.
The Vision: this has to do with positive values to be added to the people’s lives as well as where the government wants the country to be within the comity of nations coupled with action plans in achieving these, timelines with milestones on how to measure achievements. For instance, what are the ingredients for achieving the renewed hope agenda/vision of this government? How far has this been entrenched, putting into consideration policies that allow for socioeconomic compassion of the citizens.
Ideology: just as the behavioural patterns are often an outcrop of one’s innate self, so also, each day is always a function of the preceding day. At this juncture, can we consider the idea of ‘steal victory and run away with it’, the recent judicial blatant validations of constitutional and electoral guidelines’ violations? Can this also be likened to the Lenin’s political bureau of deliberate weakening of the healthy chicken to forcibly make it succumb to their control? These are the major ideas that run through this present government. The late legend prophet Bob Marley said, “You will never find justice and fair play in a world where criminals make and execute the law.”
READ ALSO
Helping Government To Help Us, By Stella Ahunanya, Ph.D
Naira Hits All-Time Low, Trades N1,825 To Dollar
Helping Govt To Succeed, Platforms Africa Collates Nigerians’ Advice On Economic Hardship
AFCON 2025 Preliminary Draw + FULL LIST
Strategic Patterns: This has to do with transparency as well as sincerity in policy formulation, execution, and effectiveness in shaping a standardized acceptable socioeconomic standard of living among the citizens. There had been claimed billions of naira interventions in various aspects to the people, start-up businesses, and small-scale industries.
However, how sincere is the government in all these interventions, and to what extent have these been affecting our economy positively? A very visible example was the 2023 yuletide transportation subsidy intervention given to just eight transportation companies plying an insignificant fraction of Nigeria routes, why not deploy such a subsidy sum to fuel subsidy within that short period for all to have the expected respite during that same period? Where then is the sincerity and accountability to the people? Equally, while a lie will never want to be challenged, the truth will never be bothered if questioned. Why the three years jail term policy against anyone that criticises the government if6 there are no hidden agenda somewhere? Is petroleum subsidy issue true if the NNPC former policy of Direct Supply Direct Purchase is being considered, where are the receipts to the present claim of N3 Trillion subsidy debt by the minister of power; is this not a decoy to increase the tariff of power supply? Deceitful strategies?
For Nigeria to succeed therefore, both the government and especially the people must be ready to listen to the truth whenever it has been told. As adapted from Theodore Roosevelt, patriotism is not about standing by the president rather by the country.
Moving forward, two areas that the government needs to immediately and sincerely address has to do with the economy and security if only, it will eschew from the love of power operating through their greed and personal ambitions, the cause of all the failures bedevilling our nation.
THE ECONOMY: two major indicators that drives any economy especially in Nigeria are power and energy. When there is power, both industries, small scale enterprises, SMEs, and the adjoining services will perform optimally, which invariably increases the GDP of the country. Invariably, there is need for power to be readily available and be within the reach of the people with a view to increase employment and productivity (meanwhile, our national greed has not allowed our national grid to function well).
In addition, the government should see energy as a socioeconomic product, which must be made abundant in supply with social component consideration in pricing. There is no reason our refineries should not be working despite the humongous amount of money that had been allocated in the past for the turn-around maintenance. If the government must import, then it should revert to the NNPC policy of Direct Supply Direct Purchase with all sincerity and6 accountability.
Transportation costs will eventually be reduced with its reduction effects on the prices of goods, services, and commodities.
Effectively, when people become more productive with the industries, factories, and SMEs producing optimally, this will increase export with a reduction in imports.
Consequently, the value of naira will rise against the dollar making life more bearable for Nigerians while contributing to the overall national success.
SECURITY: There have newspapers caption alleging dastardly role said to have been played by the APC. For instance, “APC Brought in Militias from Mali, S/Leon, Others to Win 2015 Elections – Baraje (Daily Independent, Feb. 4, 2021); APC Vows to Form Parallel Government If 2015 Elections Are Rigged – APC Chairman John Odigie Oyegun (Premium Times 2014). These two captions are indicative of the alleged roles that the ruling party has played in the past towards bringing in the crop of militias presently troubling our nation.
READ ALSO
AFCON 2025 To Be Played In July, August – CAF
46 Nigerian Varsity Lecturers Killed By Economic Hardship – ASUU
NNPCL Gets 7 Days To Account For ‘Missing’ $2.04bn, N164bn Oil Revenues
Baseless, Youth Alliance Reacts To SERAP Ultimatum To NNPCL
Adjoined to these captions are other scenarios that had played out within our nation in the past. How many of these bandits had been arrested, prosecuted, and punished appropriately in the past? What about amnesty being granted to confirmed bandits and kidnappers? The reported turban ceremony of confirmed bandits in Bornu State with over three hundred militias alongside security chiefs in attendance without any arrest– what an audacity? Bandits’ break into Kuje Correctional Centre few years back without any arrest by security details on duty are scenarios of major concerns.
The government should therefore come out in clear terms to denounce the presence and activities of these militias while coming up with efficient policies with action plans to clean our nation of these bandits. This should be inclusive of unreserved arrest, prosecution, and appropriate punitive measures meted on captured militia. There should be an unapologetic declaration by the government for the militias to vacate our land immediately without any consideration for the consequences of blackmail or spilling of the bean.
The government must be ready to change its mindset by calling the bluff of the militias brought in in 2014 (according to Baraje) for our country to have progress and success.
MOMENT OF TRUTH TO THE PEOPLE. No nation has ever succeeded in history without the contributions of its people, especially in making the government responsive to their needs, aspirations, and yearnings. Therefore, the people must learn to live together as one while eschewing primordialities or perish together as fools.
Patriotism must be seen as defending the country and not standing by the president.
People should stop celebrating those stealing away their future.
Engagement in constructive and scientific engagement of the government all the time without any fear or favour regarding policies that are inflicting pains on the people, the needs, aspirations, yearnings, and expectations of the people from the government.
People should not shy away from actions that will involve resilience and civil disobedience to ensure safety and meaningful socioeconomic well-being. That is, for our nation to succeed, there will come a time for social agitation.
Our nation is currently passing through a phase of challenges and controversies, and for us to be successful, all hands must be on deck with the engagement of all forms of strategic engagements.
▪️ Dr. Dayo Kayode, an aviation safety expert and policy analyst, is a member of Platforms Africa’s forum
