Wanted: The Chinese model to develop Nigeria

BY SOLA ABATI

In studying the Chinese development and governance model critically — of course, despite some of its shortcomings, as no system is perfect — I believe it might be the best way forward for Nigeria at this stage of our development. Our current presidential system is not working. The Chinese have a unique form of democracy that has a proper leadership recruitment and promotion system and is best suited for a country aspiring t development like Nigeria.

Given the wanton looting, especially in this Fourth Republic, the inept and incapable leadership that doesn’t have the gumption and courage to do things differently, coupled with the massive wastage we see everyday right from the local to federal levels, we might need to adopt this model for about 10 to 15 years in order for this country to leapfrog to her rightful position in the world comity of nations.

Nigeria is naturally endowed with resources. We have the right economic fundamentals to drive growth and development through massive reforms, restructuring, but we need a thorough resetting of our brains so that we can build efficient and effective systems and processes with checks and balances in place.

We also need to re-organise the entire gamut of our educational system to engender new thinking about 21st century education (with STEM education given more emphasis) and entrepreneurship, especially with all the things that are imported into this country, things we can produce ourselves, given our huge potential.

Right now, we have two not-so-different choices we have as top presidential candidates. who are almost same of the same, since about 3 of the non-establishment but competent, qualified and forward thinking candidates as Moghalu, Ezekwesili and the others who can drive change by doing things differently cannot get to be presidency in Nigeria, due to their being thinly spread and the level of poverty and hegemony of the the two bumbling major political parties,APC and PDP. It is very clear to me that we cannot sustain this type of democracy we are practising, the system is bleeding.

We cannot continue to use all our revenues to sustain the lifestyles of less than 5% of the entire population as recurrent expenditure — for the people who find their ways by hook or crook into government, along with their hangers-on, as well as the over bloated civil servants who both really don’t do any serious work or add any significant value to the GDP of the country that can drive rapid development. All this while the majority of the populace are in dire straits.

Meanwhile, most people pontificate (especially the so called middle class, who in most countries are the ones with education to drive change, because they are supposed to be better informed) in various places and the social/traditional media, then deceitfully pray/hope one day to get the opportunity to join the massive looting in government through either elective positions or by appointment.

A few others lucky enough to be in sheltered well-structured jobs behave like the ostrich, with others in their own businesses hustling it out on the ‘streets’ despite the government at all levels not providing policies and the enabling environment for businesses to thrive and all that, and the majority of the people are just living by the day as mere statistics!

Abati contributed this article from Lagos.