Moving Nigeria Forward: A modest proposal

  
"Like many before her, Nigeria will be built"- Femi Oni

We used to have groundnut pyramids. Where are they today? 



Nigeria is a puzzle. A maze-like puzzle. Many have tried to solve her but few have the slightest clue about what she is made up of. It is a complicated arrangement in the Savannah. I feel very audacious attempting to put forward what I have safely titled; Moving Nigeria Forward: A modest proposal. In this post, I piece together my insights on how Nigeria can rise above the myriads of challenges that beset her to become a beacon of hope to the African continent. I don't have all the answers but I have an acute sense and awareness of the times we are living in. This post is not a commentary.

An early history of Africa & Nigeria. 

Every African must be familiar with the work of Walter Rodney in his classic publication "How Europe Underdeveloped Africa". In that book, the balkanization of Africa was demystified. Of a truth, we were a free people well on our way to development before our encounter with the white man. In any case, books like Walter's serve to enlighten one about the history of Africa.This is very crucial because not to know what happened before one was born is to remain a child forever.

 

On 1 January 1900, the Royal Niger Company transferred its territories to the British Government for the sum of £865,000. The ceded territory together with the small Niger Coast Protectorate, already under imperial control, was formed into the two protectorates of northern and southern Nigeria. The company changed its name to The Niger Company Ltd and in 1929 became part of the United Africa Company. The United Africa Company came under the control of Unilever in the 1930s and continued to exist as a subsidiary of Unilever until 1987, when it was absorbed into the parent company.

 

Nigeria gained independence on 1 October, 1960. She became a republic in 1963. The first military coup took place on 15 January 1966. This is a date that changed Nigeria forever. The Civil War lasted between 6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970. These were the darkest days of the most populous black African nation. Today, Nigeria is back in a democratic dispensation which has lasted longer than ever, since 1999. The ultimate test lies ahead. With internal insurgence threatening the unity and peace of the country, politicians heating up the polity, unbridled corruption, lingering poverty, growing unemployment and an overwhelming uncertain future, only a persona non granta will pretend that all is well with Nigeria.Through the eyes of faith though, one could declare that ALL IS WELL.

What will happen in 2015 and beyond? Only time and choices will tell.

The subsequent paragraphs in this piece will treat the subject of the way forward. 

To change a culture, alter habits.

In the summer of 2011, I traveled for the very first time outside the shores of this country. As you'd imagine, I was super ecstatic and very hopeful to see for myself what the white-man's land look like. The closest I have been to ilu-oyinbo before this time was through the lens of others and the movies. In a funny twist of fate, I almost missed my flight. I am coming back to this. The night before the trip, I escaped an Okada accident. I left the office late around 9pm as there was much to tidy up. In a split second en-route my house, the Okada rider almost ran into an oncoming vehicle. That night I came face to face with death. The closest I have. When the moment passed, I was full of many thanks to Eledumare for preservation. I got home safely with my heart in my mouth. I was thoroughly shaken. 

 

The next morning I contacted someone to facilitate my movement to the airport. He was to drive me to the airport. My flight was for 12 noon. We set out at 10am. After exiting my estate, we entered into this notorious traffic and at about 10:30am still in the traffic, I knew there was no way I could make it to the airport. I had to find an alternative and again, it was Okada. One of the thoughts in my head (I want to believe that we all often think in our mother tongue) was that "the witches in my village had come to get me". Funny now but that's exactly what I felt. I eventually got the Airport just in time not to have missed my flight. My colleagues at work had checked-in. In time, we went through the required checks. Mine was a virgin passport with the legendary UK visa stamp. We were airborne on our way to London Heathrow Airport.




Let me save you the details of the landing and arrival protocols. I was impressed by the level of organisation at the airport. You can't but recognize that the folks over there understand order. The atmosphere seemed to resonate this aura of excellence. With my green pali, I approached the arrival desk and in few minutes, I was clear to go. I was officially welcome to the Queen's land and for the next three weeks, London was going to accommodate me and my colleagues. In no time, our luggage was ready for collection and we were set to transit to the west of London where our accommodation was prepared. Can't remember very vivid details but I can't remember seeing any pot-holes. One thing that struck me was on our way away from the Airport, I didn't see very popular automobile brands; the versions I was used to. Not judging by appearances but everything just looked exotic. My first day in London, I saw the night life. Nothing like I had experienced in Lagos. This could be as a result of my limited experience but I assure you I am not exaggerating here.

The weekend of the second week, my colleagues and I decided to go on unbridled sight seeing. This was on the heels of rigorous training we had to go through. That fateful Saturday, we decided to separate. I decided to visit Jeremyn Street off Piccadily Circus to pick some shirts for a cousin of mine from the original TM Lewin shop. I also picked a few books from the Waterstones Bookstore. This was one of the highpoint of my UK trip. I spent almost 3 hours in the book store. It was surreal to say the least.

 

When I got to Piccadily Circus, something happened. This event particularly taught me a great deal of lesson about the white man. Each of us had a travel card which we used for train and bus rides. At the train stations, you had to touch the card against a machine which debited each traveler. I was behind a colleague who had touched the gate and gain access. I followed him immediately without touching the machine. When I got to train station in Piccadily circus, I met the shocker of my life. My well funded travel card couldn't ensure my entrance. The gate rejected me. I spoke with the officer on duty who announced to me I had failed to do the right thing. I didn't touch the machine with my travel card. The system summarily caught up with me. I had to pay a penalty of five pounds. By this singular event it became clear to me that there is no difference between a black man and a white man character wise. What the latter does well is to furnish a system of control which guarantee that people who fail to do the right thing don't go without consequence. These folks understand that when it comes to getting people to do the right things, passionate appeals and sermonizing hardly work. They reward actions. 




I have studied the stories of nations that once lurked in the shadows of backwardness and have found it a consistent feature that these societies migrated from a regime of lawlessness to a system that rewarded every action. Singapore and the Asian tigers are examples of how credible systems championed development. In Singapore, a democratic nation, the reward for sharp practices come with very severe punishments including capital punishment in some cases. While, I am not a proponent of capital punishment, I strongly believe that we must evolve a system in which people receive appropriate rewards for their actions and in-actions. There should be consequences for actions and people shouldn't get away with impunity. 

One street per time

Ask a typical Nigerian which local government he resides in and your answer is likely to be blank. Most of us are uninterested in the happenings around us. We don't know who our counselors are. Many are unperturbed about the on-goings in their Resident Associations. We don't care. In one of my earlier posts; The Mission to Eldorado, I stated that the journey to the promise land will begin with each Nigerian been genuinely interested in the local politics around him. In that post, I asserted why the public governance crusade must include the grassroots. We don't get accountability because we don't demand for it. Local government elections are hardly contested for. We are quick to beam search light on the affairs of the politicians in the higher levels of governance but play sidon-look when it comes to the closest government to us. Talk of ignorance.


The way forward is for each and everyone of us to lead where we are. We didn't get here overnight. The journey to the promise land (something yet to be well articulated) won't be a brisk walk. We all have a collective responsibility to chart a future which is no longer a distant prospect. Indeed, when we are crying, we shouldn't stop seeing. One must recognize the singular efforts of notable Nigerians who have taken it upon themselves to take the bull by the horn. These are people who have had to wrestle against many dissenting opinions. I love the work of people like Funto Oni (I am not related to her by blood) and her team. Her work is centered on empowering and enlightening the girl child. She and her team are not afraid to take on this seemingly behemoth challenge. They are covering the grounds one girl at a time. Truly remarkable.



Imagine what it will be if we have multiple people like Funto Oni taking on the serial challenges we have across board. Your guess is good as mine. It will be a long walk but we will arrive. The journey to build Dubai has taken no fewer than 20 years but this once desert region has become the jewel of the Arab world. Their vision, an unrepentant one is to become number 1 in the world. Nothing stops us from becoming the best place to live on the planet. We must set forth at dawn.



A new national vision of the future
It is needless to say that we are behind in many material respects. Consider than in May 2013, the total amount of electricity generated in the country fell to 3,520MW. South Africa, Nigeria’s rival for the continent’s largest economy, produces more than 40,000MW, and has only a third of Nigeria’s population. Bangladesh, which has a similar-size population and less than half the gross domestic product of Nigeria, produces almost twice the amount of electricity per capita. We need a new vision so as not to arrive at a stale future. In the early 90s, Naira paired competitively with Dollars. Today one Dollar stands at around N150+. Foreign entities are fast encroaching our territory and fast taking over the key sectors of our economy while politicians and the private Nigerians move money abroad. Its a shame that it took South Africans to deliver an infrastructure like the fast growing shopping mall; Shoprite. Nations continue to plunder us. Many continue to despise us and treat us shabbily.



What does the Nigerian dream look like? Where is the ship of the nation coasting to? To what direction? Are we living for today? Have we mortgaged the future of our children? Will things fall apart? When shall we arrive at the promise land?



The answers to these questions are quite elusive but our decisions and choices which include our spending pattern as a nation say a lot about us and our priorities. Our national policies are just damn right unsustainable. We need a vision that speaks. I am tempted to believe that we are where we are because we lack conviction as a nation. That's why we are bogged down by flimsy distractions. The elders ate sour grapes and our teeth is set in the edge. While many may be quick to say we lack the provision, I hold a different viewpoint altogether. Singapore doesn't have as much as half of our means and resources but boast of advanced infrastructure and an economy growing consistently. The standard of living being commensurate to the GDP. Same goes for Dubai. 20 years ago, much of what Dubai is today was stack desert land.

 

The subject around a new national vision will be incomplete without emphasizing action. It is true that culture eats strategy for lunch (HBR). Our national vision must be heavy on action and less on dandy proposals. Talk is cheap. 


Here are a few points to consider:


Our educational system and curriculum should focus on equipping students for life. A new age is dawning upon us and in this era of productivity championed by robots, pupils need an entirely new set of skills to more than survive. The five new skills (meta-cognitive) according to Marty Neumiere in his book Metaskills are Feeling, Seeing, Dreaming, Making & Learning. The rote skills currently being imparted on our student populace will make them unfit to compete in this era. This is actually an emergency situation requiring urgent attention. Our very future depends on this.




At the risk of boiling the ocean, it is important to emphasize that for us to win in the race for the future in a flat world like ours, our young population (37% of Nigerians are aged between 15 & 24) must be empowered. In a world driven by commerce and trade, it is wrong for our graduates to come out half baked lacking wisdom. I dare say that most of our graduates are clueless about how the world works. It is hard to blame these folks when even the leadership don't seem to get the drift. The system that prepared most of the current crop of leaders didn't prepare them for the unique set of challenges. We have a chance to avert the pending disaster.




There is no doubt whatsoever that we will have to do the things we have refused to do. Necessity remains the mother of invention. For instance, we will have to revert to agriculture whether or not we like it. We will have to develop our key infrastructure like road and alternative transportation e.t.c. Why? With a growing population and its attendant consequence of plenty mouth to feed, failing revenue from oil and the threat of quantum substitutes (shale gas), the jungle is soon to be mature. The party will soon be over or maybe not? I heard there is a possibility of precious stones (Diamonds) been discovered in this land. We'll see. In any case, our options are limited.




Conclusion
While a Sovereign National Conference as being called for by many is not an unlikely way to go, it is hardly an essential way out of our misery. Indeed, my greatest fear for Nigeria is not the possibility of a break-up of its ethnic constituents. A sure threat. I can bet my very life on it that we will surmount our woes as a people. The human race always find a way around these things. My ultimate bone of contention is when we finally overcome, that we cannot afford to forget where we are coming from and who we belong to. God is the governor among the nations. 


Image Credit: Google