The game plan

Not a few persons have described the 2016 budget of Lagos state which has just being signed into law for full operation as ambitious. They thought perhaps Governor Ambode was not fully aware of the reality on ground when he prepared the budget. Rightfully, that thinking is premised on the fact that the era of bountiful harvest in Abuja where all the commissioners of finance of the 36 states of the Federal Republic of Nigeria mark a monthly attendance to take huge financial harvest for their states from the federal revenue is now a thing of the past. And that is probably going to be so for a while and has started taking its toll on many of the states.

The reality is not only disheartening but also demoralizing. The crude oil which Nigeria has become so obsessed with and through which the country generates the billions of dollars that is shared monthly between the Federal Government and the states presently lacks the capacity to hemorrhage the high soaring dollars. With the continued fall of global prices of oil that is putting serious strain on a petro-dependent economy like Nigeria, there is no gainsaying that these are troubled times for the over indulged states.

Even more saddening is the fact most of these states are practically solely reliant on the Abuja bounty. Most of them are totally bereft of innovations to stimulate other streams of income within their various states. And this is despite the avalanche of mineral and natural resources available to them in their respective states. What better evidence of ineptitude can one ask for than the fact that even with the emergency bailouts provided by the Federal Government to rescue some states in the payment of their workers; a number of the states are still struggling to pay workers’ salary.

Expectedly the economic hardship experienced in 2015 has reflected in the 2016 budgets of most states across the federation. While some states have cut down their capital expenditure, others are embracing austerity measures and cutting down on overhead costs to avoid total collapse. But the truth is Lagos state cannot be classed in the club of these perpetually unweaned ones. The state is on a class of its own.

Lagos state remains the commercial nerve centre of the country which is already generating massive revenue within its borders. And there are still so many yet-to-be harnessed income-generating avenues for the state government to explore. I bet that’s the reason why the governor is so confident of implementing the programmes of the 2016 budget worth a total of N662.588 billion. People in the know have also hinted that even though the governor acknowledges the hardship the falling crude oil prices has brought on the economic life of many Nigerians, the state’s budget was prepared to be driven by Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). And that the governor is keeping a card up his sleeves.

Actually, there is a game plan that is designed to massively jack up the revenue base of the state, and the government is relying on the CEO of the Lagos State Lotteries Board, Mr. Lanre Gbajabiamila, to deliver on the crucial assignment. Gbajabiamila had said at a Lagos State Stakeholders’ Conference on Taxation about two years ago that the board generated about N1 billion in 2013 from about 11 sport-betting companies in the state. And the board is looking forward to surpassing that income under the current economic climate.

Beyond the economic gains however, he has noted that the industry also has the potential to generate hundreds of thousands of employment opportunities in a bid to raising efforts to cut down the embarrassing numbers of unemployed in the state. That should be music to everyone’s hears. Really, this is one social intervention one is expecting the state to take more seriously. And here’s why.

Tough economic conditions often inevitably force companies to downsize. That means, in clear terms, loss of jobs. And we all know that is the last thing Nigeria wants at this point, not with the humongous rate of unemployment she is already burdened with. More loss of jobs at this point will only compound the woes of the nation, and significantly too.

The recent closure of the LAMATA operated BRT bus company is a case in point. Not less than 300 persons have been out of their jobs for days now following the closure which was a result of the company’s inability to fulfill some of its financial obligations to the state government and to properly maintain its buses. One can only hope the situation doesn’t become permanent. And that’s because the more idle hands we have in a society, the more prone to vices the society becomes. Never mind the Federal Government’s proposed N5000 ‘largesse’ for unemployed youths.

Point is, one can never over-emphasize the need for more employment opportunities in the nation at large, and in the city of Lagos in particular. It is, in fact, one of the most important social provisions any government can make given the ripple effects it has not only on the economic status of a society but also on the social and mental state of the society generally.

Hence, I can only hope Gbajabiamila and his lottery board will make good their work and create employment opportunities while making more money for the state with their game plan. It will save us all a lot of worries!