Will things change at the end of Buhari’s tenure?

Professor Chukwuma Soludo, in one of his interviews, posited that the rescuing, stabilization and transformation of the country would require a 24 by 7 operation. The erudite scholar also implied that at this critical point the country needs people who will have to put on their thinking caps, irrespective of where they might come from. In this article, after sleeping over what the distinguished professor has said, I am tempted ask two fundamental questions. First, has the government got time in its hands? Second, how has the government used its time so far?

Did you hear the minister of science and technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, say that it will take Nigeria at least two years to start making pencils? Thus, I think it is timely to raise the questions I am going to present in this article. However, let me make it clear that I admire President Buhari and I really want him to succeed.

The President was widely criticized for not appointing his ministers on time. I understand the President’s position on this issue. He needs time to study what was on ground before some ‘noise makers’ in the name of ministers come in and muddle things up. Buhari is a very wise old man- he knows Nigerian politicians can be very greedy so he wanted to know the state of things before the ministers come in and start telling him something else. Now that the ministers are around, can’t you see that they have lost some valuable time?

Take for example Babatunde Fashola’s novel plans for the three ministries he is superintending. Lest I forget, engineers think he took their job – those three ministries are actually core engineering ministries. However, this is a topic for another day. The minister intends to amend at least six laws in order to set the foundation for the effective development of our infrastructure. I really hope the legislators will help him in amending these laws in good time. It could really take time to change some laws. Can we really do all these in good time?

Now that government is asking for Pension Funds to be invested in infrastructure, I hope Nigerians who contribute into these Funds won’t have a problem with this. And that organized labor will behave themselves. LOL. A friend once told me that his father told him, at his death bed, never to work for government because they won’t pay your pensions. His father took so ill at 68 and could not buy his medicines because the pensions weren’t forthcoming.  It is not as bad as it used to be, though. Pension Funds can stimulate our economy if invested into infrastructure but how long would Buhari need to convince labor and my grand mum in the village about this. A long time, I guess. For the few months the APC has been in office, have they fully won the Nation’s trust?  A friend told me that the only person he trusts in the government is Buhari. As funny as this may sound, lots of people think so as well. Note that if the contracts for these infrastructure are inflated or if public officers demand huge kickbacks, the Pension Funds used in financing these projects could disappear into thin air. Never mind that tolling systems are expected to help recoup these Pension Funds, I will give you examples of how these Funds could vanish in subsequent articles.

What about the fight against corruption. The President is one of the few people I think has the moral authority to fight corruption, but he can’t do it alone. I am sure you have read stories of how underfunded the EFCC is. Last week, the Auditor General of the Federation (AGF), Samuel Okura, told the Public Accounts Commission (PAC) that his office was starved of funds. Thus, might not be able to effectively fight corruption. President Buhari needs the EFCC, ICPC, judiciary and other strategic government agencies to fight corruption. I suspect Buhari might sometimes wish we were in 1984. If we were in 1984, Buhari would have solved all Nigeria’s corruption cases in 6 months. By now we would have been talking of something else. Remember he said the judiciary was his main headache. Unfortunately, we are in 2016, and he is a repented democrat. LOL. The question here is where are the courts and judges to try all these big names I am reading about on the pages of the newspapers? Trying rich people takes time in Nigeria because they have the resources to defend themselves, no matter how long it takes. Do we really have time and the resources, even if we have the resources, we have not walked the talk by massively investing in the judiciary. Please, I am not defending anyone here, we need those loots back, no doubt.

Nigerians applauded the UK for jailing an ex-governor that couldn’t be convicted at home. But, they forgot to ask one very fundamental question. How much did the UK spend in investigating and prosecuting the former governor? If you have ever gone to any of our courts you will know what I mean. I have gone to our courts to swear affidavits. They don’t look well kept. Fighting corruption is not easy anywhere in the world and it costs money.

Let us look at mining. Remember commodity prices are falling in the international markets. This has given the South African economy a bloodied nose with the Rand plummeting. Now, do you think that mining can provide much jobs? We badly need new jobs, though, the government has other industries it intends to create jobs from. You don’t need to be an economist to guestimate how many jobs are likely to come from mining. You only have to ask how many people are working in the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry, it is also an extractive industry like mining. If after over 50 years of oil and gas exploration we are still talking of an effective regulatory framework (PIB), do you think mining will just become a money spinner in 4 years, even in 8 years. I believe our very own Dr Kayode Fayemi might be working 24 hours in a day. Dr Fayemi has just asked States to explore the minerals in their state. This sounds like pseudo-federalism.  Again, I ask, has the government got time on its side?

What about the much talked about agricultural sector. Don’t you think issues concerning the land use act and other regulatory frameworks will hamper the effective development of agriculture? Did I hear you say investors are already coming? But, they would have been more if the issue of land ownership in Nigeria is properly taken care of. This will take time because we didn’t start talking of the land use act today, you know.

The budget is already in trouble and next year’s budget will be tighter. We are not immune to falling oil prices, so I expected the budget to be in the soup. My dear President might find it difficult meandering in his budgets for the next four years, if the oil prices don’t recover. If you meander and take 5 hours for a 30 minutes journey, will you still have time left Sir?

Now, let us look at the Naira. Some people think that the inflexibility of the Naira is Buhari’s brainchild, not the CBN’s as it were. His comments suggest this. To be honest, I admire him for that. He takes pride in his currency and doesn’t want to devalue it, and besides, he has presented valid arguments to defend his stand. However, the last time I checked my amiable President wasn’t an economist. So, what if after all the hold on the Naira, the currency is forced to find its level as the Ghanaian and South African currencies have. We must have wasted so much time defending it if this happens. Remember the questions at the beginning of this article were about how much time President Buhari really has and how he has spent his time.

My dear President Buhari and members of the APC, it is with a heavy heart I ask these questions. I believe the time constraints should necessitate a new way of thinking in our polity as never seen before in order to make the change the APC promised and wishes to make.

Now, an advice for my dearest President. Four years is not a long time, Sir. Politicians know this and some would have started warming up if not for these court cases here and there. In other to run at Usain Bolt’s speed, tinkering with our current federal system (abolishing the feeding bottle federalism we practice) might give you the momentum you need. Sir, can’t you see that Dr Kayode Fayemi is trying to propose what looks like pseudo federalism in his ministry. If Dr Fayemi’s plans work, I am sure he will make an impact

Dr Nwankwo lives in Benin City