CONTINUED FROM YESTERDAY
Coal
There is little or no need to begin to market Coal as a possible economic resource of Nigeria. Before, Oil and Gas distorted our economic vision, coal used to be one of the major economic strengths of the country. In our present circumstances, with all hands needing to be on deck, we have to go back more aggressively into exploiting this resource. I am aware that since the country has as it were abandoned coal a number of private investors and amateur miners and speculators have gone into the business.
Unfortunately, none has had the kind of neither huge capital investment nor the modern coal extraction technology to realise the great potential in this resource. Nigerian coal is one of the most bituminous in the world, because of its low sulphur and ash content. As of today, there are over 2 billion tonnes reserves especially in Enugu, Benue and Plateau.
Duty free export zones
Duty free export zones
In the last days of the Obasanjo government, he launched the TINAPA Village in Cross River State. That was an imaginative project conceived then by the outgoing state governor Mr. Donald Duke. It was designed to be a duty-free export centre where both Nigerian and foreign manufacturers could come and utilize both Nigerian raw or semi-finished materials and local cheap labour to produce goods for export. This is one of the strategies of the Chinese economic revival. Quite a lot of the American-named electrical, electronic, telecommunications and telephones are actually being manufactured in China under Chinese licences.
The PMB’s government should immediately revive that project, which was abandoned by Mr. Donald Duke’s successor. He should also establish another similar centre in Lagos State possibly in Badagry. It is common knowledge that all the Apple I-Phones, I-Pads etc are all made in China.
Cattle ranching
Also in the North, instead of the present primitive cattle development programmes that is leading to conflicts in the Middle Belt and in the South West as Fulani herdsmen enter farms with their cattle to ravage farms, we should wake up to the fact that cattle-rearing has gone far, far beyond our present primitive level. The order of the day is large-scale cattle ranching. That is one of the biggest industries in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay and even in the U.S out of which corned Beef, is exported all over the world. Why can’t we solicit technical partnerships from these countries to transform our primitive, antediluvian cattle producing business from what it is now to the big industries that they should be – and employ thousands – if not millions of our countrymen?
Budget 2016
Coming to the present federal budget, according to reports, the federal government would like to employ 500,000 as teachers in primary or secondary schools.
What thought has gone into this? Do they think anybody can be teachers and impart knowledge? I am not sure that the Nigerian Union of Teachers would not feel insulted by the idea behind this – that anybody can teach or has the temperament or even desire to teach. That is why in the good old days Nigeria had Teacher Training Schools and Colleges of Education. These were the institutions that produced the Buharis, the Obasanjos the Wole Soyinkas, the Chinua Achebes, the Afe Babalolas, the Enoch Adeboyes, the Kumuyis, the Oyedepos and the first generation of Nigerian rulers. They were not produced by reluctant teachers. Besides, in all honesty, what is the quality of current Nigerian graduates – that we are entrusting the future of those to take Nigeria to great heights into their care?
Are they aware that many foreign companies in Nigeria these days, employ graduates of local Nigerian universities – and than re-train them in special In-House training centres for at times upwards of two years, teaching them – the uses of English Language etc before allowing them near their operations? That is why many of these companies prefer foreign universities’ degree holders – and that is what has led to Nigerian parents’ desperation to send their children to foreign universities.
I understand that even some locally produced graduates – some who bought their second class (upper) for cash or slept their ways to graduation are unable to string together a grammatically competent English paragraph.
Besides, a look at the 2016 Federal Education budget would suggest that the decision might have been a hurried one. Assuming that the government pays each graduate about N50, 000 a month, it could need 500,000 x N50, 000 x 12 to pay these emergency teachers in one year. That works out a N300, 000,000,000 – Just for one year. How do you pay that out of the 2016 total budget of N8 trillion? How also do you pay all other employees of the Ministry? Are they using Taiwan calculators at the
Federal Ministry of Finance?
Financing Nigeria’s great leap forward
I want to strongly suggest that everybody who has spent 15-20 years in the public service (state or federal) should be encouraged to retire and go to participate in the many development opportunities that are to become available in agriculture, animal husbandry, food processing, export etc.
With 15-20 years of public service experience, at least 50 per cent of them should be able to stand on their own and survive as entrepreneurs.
To assist in this objective, Nigerian banks should be required to deploy 50 per cent out of their net profits to assist or partner with these new entrepreneurs in SMEs etc from which large scale entrepreneurs will develop in the future. Dangote did not develop overnight. They should go and do likewise. He developed through grit, determination acute seriousness assisted by indigenous local banking support.
National Redevelopment Bond
The Federal Government should set up a 20/25 year National Redevelopment Bond to be promoted by the Dangotes, the Felix Ohiwereis, the Mike Adenugas, the Jim Ovias, the Tony Elumelus, the TheophilusDanjumas, the Oshunkeyes – but we need our Perception Capital to be properly in place.
Items to be banned
Respectfully, the import of the following items should be banned immediately – Rice, furniture, KekeNapep and all these other useless imports. Where is our national pride if we cannot even feed ourselves? Indians are preparing to send people to the moon while we are importing Keke Napep. If we must perish without imported Rice or Keke Napep, let us perish! Period. That was the spirit of the founding fathers of America and the convicts that were exiled from Europe “to die” in Australia! They have produced an Australia, which reportedly now has the best medical services in the world. Almost every Nigerian now has at least a Samsung GSM phone – but what has been the investment of Samsung in Nigeria?
The N5,000 monthly dash
There is the issue of N5,000 monthly “allowees” that PMB proposes to pay unemployed graduates. I don’t know what is the idea behind this programme and whether it has been well thought out.
To start with, who has done the census of unemployed graduates in the country and their geographical location? What is the guarantee that this is not another scam in the making even with present economic dilemma facing the country? Who are the people to administer these funds? How can anybody stop self-employed graduates working at home from collecting these “allowees”? I thought that there should be somebody around Buhari who would tell him that the only place money comes before work is in the dictionary. Even in Freetown, there is no free lunch.
Police
Rather than ask 500,000 unemployed graduates to go into teaching that they are not equipped for, Nigeria which is now terribly under-policed should recruit 300,000 of them into a new police force. Give them training with the support of Scotland Yard, FBI, the German Police, etc, through intensive 18 month training programmes.
Within two years, we would have a transformed self-confident and crime preventing and crime- bursting police force – that would have taken over from the present glorified, confidence – lacking house boys/house girls to corrupt, redundant and over-fed vainglorious first ladies of local/state/federal government officials and their concubines or “wetin you carry” thugs manning road checkpoints or “toll gates.”
The above plus our transformed judiciary which will dispense justice quickly, honestly and efficiently will transform our national internal security. If we have had this kind of system in operation, it would have provided intelligence to have prevented the scourge of Boko Haram. Can we now imagine how much in terms of lives, resources, national honour and dignity and pride we have lost through Boko Haram? Any wonder Israel spends 2.3 per cent of her GDP on National security. For them, it is a question of national survival.
Judiciary
A few days ago, there were reports that the suspects in the 2003 attempt to kill late Prof. Dora Akinyuli have been discharged – either for want of diligent prosecution or some such ridiculous reason – and that – after 13 years!! What kind of Judiciary do we have? A few days ago, we read a report of the President approving the possible dishonourable retirement of a Federal Judge.
The question is – How many Nigerian Judges can declare their assets publicly and defend them? Are they the ones PMB is relying on as partners in his anticorruption crusade? Please don’t laugh! Is he sure given the facts of our system that any of these cases will be concluded before December 2019? Hmmm. Are they at both state and federal levels sufficiently remunerated and provisioned for in retirement as to strengthen them to be totally above board like Caesar’s wife? How can we have a foreign-investor friendly, economy, when ordinary business disputes could not be legally resolved even in one and a half decades?
What is all this saying? – There is a role waiting for an actor.
Fighting crime
I suggest that the federal government should mandate all federal, state, local government institutions as well as both the organized and informal private sector to immediately begin catching the biometrics of all their employees and their family members as well as anyone that do business or has any personal or commercial relationships with them. These include hospitals, banks, police stations, business centres, bureau de changes, all primary, secondary and tertiary institutions and those interfacing or related to them.
If this is done within 6 months, the biometrics of almost 80 per cent of the population would have been captured. This will go a long way toward crime control and prevention – because there is absolutely no way, any burglar, potential assassin as well as those breaking into cars on Lagos “go-slow” as well as kidnappers can successfully operate without at least the fingerprint of just one of them. We should stop trying to reinvent the wheel!
The grand slam
I now come to the Grand Slam. The Grand Slam is comparable to American President Roosevelt’s New Deal. The federal government should mandate, the leaders of the six Geopolitical states (which really should be the basis for any serious political configuration) to make vast and adequate land available from which six brand new cities – the six Dubai’s of Nigeria, the revolutionary basis for rebuilding the whole country over the next 50 years will begin.
Yes. We can rebuild the whole country with our resources in 50 years. Without vision, youperish! In this, not only will every unemployed Nigerian be employed, but those who are able to do two jobs or more at a time will be able to do so. The whole country would be turned into a pulsating factory – and unemployment would automatically be wiped out. Can we dare to dream of a total reconstruction of Nigeria in 50 years? In any case, do we have an option if we are not to be hopelessly left behind as America, Europe and Asia are frenetically racing for the leadership of the 22nd Century? If we can see it, we can do it.
Artificial intelligence
While we our so-called leaders are busy hiding their monies way from President Muhammadu Buhari’s prying eyes in their new domiciliary accounts in Benin and Ghana, the leaders of serious countries are now preparing to manufacture “driverless cars” which should become commercially available within the next 10 years.
According to latest revelations in the IT world, “Artificial Intelligence made significant leaps and bounds last year, including refined facial recognition software, hyper-specific mapping technology and experimental devices.
“We have reached a point in history when science fiction is turning into science fact by producing machines that can now learn like humans. The technology is referred to as “Deep Learning.” Through exposure to surroundings, images and concepts, computers begin to perceive the world around them. Based on algorithms that essentially model the way neurons in our brains change when exposed to new experiences. Deep Learning is being used by companies such as Google, as well as experimental start ups – including a company that used a device designed to perceive elements in the environment and relay the information via an earpiece to the blind.
Some experts are predicting that Artificial Intelligence will soon be able to whisper suggestions to us and function as unobtrusive personal assistants.” Only time will tell. I just hope that someday, these people will not develop a technology that will take all of Africa back into slavery again before we know it – all through highly sophisticated technology.While we are busy with inanities, the “developed world” is moving furiously on.
The 10,000 new frontiers men
The long-term
For the long term, we would have to invest in education and technical skills, healthcare and launch a huge human resources programme. This would mean that we have to raise up to 10,000 young men and women to send out to be trained at M.I.T at Berkeley at Harvard, at various Chinese technical institutions to acquire the skills with which to launch the restoration of Nigeria and the black man’s dignity.
This was one of the strategies of late Indonesia President Suharto, to pull out Indonesia from Third World to First World. He invested in training and developing his youths to take on the challenge of competing with the First World. This was one of the ways Suharto deployed Indonesia’s Sovereign Wealth Funds. What have we done with ours? As of now, Norway (an oil producing country like Nigeria but with a population of a mere 5 million, only a fraction of our population of Lagos City has $ 882 billion in her S.W.F Account. Saudi Arabia has $ 773 billion, China has two accounts.
Account No 1 $ 652 billion, Account No 2 $ 567 billion, Kuwait $ 548 billion, Hon Kong (A City State) $ 400 billion. Nigeria $ 1 billion. The State of Texas in the U.S has two accounts to train young Texans to take on the 22nd Century world – Account 1 – $ 37 billion, Account 2 – $ 17 billion. That is how serious countries get to be great.
Foreign trips
I think we have had more than enough of foreign trips by the past 4 Nigerian Presidents. Even before he was sworn in, OBJ went on tour of the world, as if our salvation was from there. Yar’Adua continued it, followed by GEJ. So far, PMB has visited 14 countries in 6 months. I think many of us are losing sight of the fact that it is not in the interest of these so-called Western Powers that we become economically strong, independent and self-sufficient. If we are then our huge 170 million man market would be lost to them. It is not in their economic interest for Nigeria to be industrially self-reliant. For them, we are a good dumping ground.
There is even the unspoken danger to the balance of power in the world. A 2050 Nigeria with a 600 million population, being the third most populated country in the world (more populated than even the U.S.A), that is both economically and industrially buoyant, self-sufficient and confident will become the “China” of the latter part of the 22nd Century and could begin to develop military “illusions” and begin to flex her economic and industrial muscles thereby threatening the geo-political interests of the OECD countries in Africa. It is as simple as that.
In 1979, Chief Obafemi Awolowo campaigning for President said that Nigeria’s conditions then were so serious that if he became President, he had no business travelling outside Nigeria for asingle day – because the problems as he saw them then required his attention in Nigeria 24/7.
The Guardian Nigeria
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