The Road to Happiness and Content in the Nation’s Darkened Horizon -By Jimi Bickersteth

As the nation assume a posse to move forward in its developmental stride using the upgrade of infrastructure and road network and the bold deregulation in the oil industry, in a move that is diametrically opposed to the nation’s once dilettante business-as-usual attitude, atmosphere of high conspiracy, deceit and sloppiness all around, that defy logic, it, like it or not, marks the PMB’s administration, out with distinction compared to past administrations.

Administrations, who either could not or would not make hard choices, and where they do, it is to favour the cabal, the retinue of hangers-on and coterie of advisers.

Contrary to all one’s ordered expectation of life and enjoyment and satisfaction, and oil wealth, Nigerians have been disappointed by those leaders. Anyway, life’s like that! It does not permit us to arrange and order it as we will. It will not permit us to escape emotions, to live by intellect and by reason but PMB’s goading the nation on the path of, it is about time to face facts and awkward truths, and make hard choices where necessary and if need be.

This invariably has left the nation to rue and grapple with a lot of malaise amidst plenty of oil wealth and this has highly impacted on social life, work and security-extremely distressing circumstances, you’ll say. A large number of depression-related medical cases are here with us.  Nigerians are forced to endure losses of lives, dignity, job and self-esteem and are still been asked to endure-numbness at its most severe.

Let’s be candid not coy, the story of any of us is in perspective the story of us all. One is stressed-and who isn’t nowadays. The bursting and bombing of NNPC oil pipelines in the Niger Delta, the Boko assaults, ethnic profiling, and agitations for self-independence were some of the aggravated tensions all around, but one should place in parenthesis that, the bursting of NNPC’s oil pipelines and the restiveness all around, were crashing boundaries and that is not always an option. Now those engaged in the nefarious acts won’t listen, but I doubt if Nigerians would decide to concede our oilfields and installations to this felons without raising a finger, neither would Nigerians allow themselves to be led by the nose into a noose they considered unsafe.

Empathy is free and we are the same, either up or down, East or West of the Niger. All have suffered privation and neglect, but the ND, IPOB, ESN, MASSOB boys are obviously getting impatient, they may however end up in a storm the way they are going about the campaign, impatient, crisis-ridden people often does, and they are sailing right into the awaiting storms. Yes, hunger and anger is forcing the ‘boys’ to take advice from the wrong motivation, people and instincts .

It is on record that they have been marginalised, oppressed and neglected over the years, to be fair, and like most Nigerians; but the incoherent protests, vandalism, anarchy, the sheer daredevilry, illegal occupation and copious vandalisation of the NNPC pipelines, is arguably not justiceable, either on moral grounds, in the court of public opinion and natural justice, hence, leaves much to be desired. It is a trite statement, that you do not use a problem to solve a problem.

It appears the urge and ambition in the ND, IPOB, ESN is to go “phoenix”, but they may be wrong-dead wrong in the final analysis-and may perish in the wilderness. They can get themselves into a real mess by following prevailing opinion and the most popular ideas from their so-called ‘experts’ and ‘leaders’, misdirecting them.The acts of gangsterism and blasting the oil pipelines is not going in the right direction, of course, hunger can paralyse one’s thoughts, but one can’t afford to be guided by circumstances.

Be that as it may. This fuel subsidy thing is magic, and the more you look the less you see. A nation that consumes 40mln bpd and could only provide 18mln bpd, and the dollar exchange rate is telling on the importers,  resulting in scarcity and hoarding; and with the removal of fuel subsidy, the usual rigmarole of the Labour union to negotiate a downward review of the pump price on one hand and an opportunity to press for wage increase from the excess fund anticipated.

But the nation must in all these always take cognisance of the volatility in the oil market and must borne in mind the happiness and well being of Nigerians in the outcome of negotiations for wage adjustment, as with the oil revenue any twist must shift the cup from the lips and we’ll be back to square one, but with hyper inflation to the bargain.This raises four valid questions:

i. which is the way forward to a final resolution of the perennial hike in pump price and the promises of using the excess fund that would accrue to provide turnkey jobs;

ii. getting the refineries to work at full installed capacity;and,

iii. with or without the PIB, what have our legislators been up to in 17years, without helping the economy by legislation to amongst other things, open up market, transform businesses and create entrepreneurs.

iv.how do we correct the error the nation and its people are paying dearly for to date, for allowing the government to get too much involved in the business side of NNPC and other areas of the nation’s life, rather than the people whose chief business is business.

However, once it set out, the Buhari government must be willing and ready to confront and meet all challenges confronting us as a nation on the nose; this is when we can change from a wobbling drifter and dreamer; emerge from the prison we have been living in. But the question is, for how long can we go forth with sharpened sticks to hunt this woolly sabre rattling mammoths, less than a thousand of them, that have consigned our nation to the back-heel of history.

The nation has retire into itself away from the noise and strife in the polity and the confusion in the courts, all of which come to our ears only as faint, far-off rumblings, and as the tumult of the life of the nation heard only as a buzzing hum by the man in a balloon. Its draining and soul dampening. Let’s be realistic; anyone who has any imagination at all is going to be concerned about happenings in the country, as we have been turned to desert travellers in a swirling sandstorm.

Nigerians are worried stiff, about the state of the nation generally, with the bleak image of future problems lurking just around the next bend. The country certainly need help. Nigerians feel incensed when corrupt officials oppress and exploit their citizens. PHCN asking for money for power not supplied. The gas station often recalibrate the dispensing meters. Does it offend your sense of justice when big business fattens the rich at the expense of the poor, this are some areas the nation deserves answers and action by next May 29th when the PMB administration will be seven years old.

You need to see the city at night, like when a train enters the tunnel with no lights on, yet the bees keep suckling and does everything but pollinate the flower. Good thing, Nigeria have partnered with the Chinese, let’s take a step further, even if it means taking a step away from modernity and civilisation, even as we ask of the Chinese to begin the mass production for the Nigerian market, battery or solar powered grinders, welding machines, sewing machines, generators, and other household appliances. By doing this, Nigerians do not have to ask anyone in government any questions about power supply, since you are not asking the people to pay for tactlessness, absence of good culture and lack of foresight-all hidden costs of under performance.

It may sound outlandish, even as we find the sunlit oasis called success, but it is the way to go. Nonetheless, the Nigerian project deserves a better deal and a set of beliefs and attitudes that gives calmness and assurance to struggling, ill nourished humans, men that are worried about the consequences of today on the future; people who need to get through life plus a blueprint, that if followed will lead them to the promise land.
Today the nation exchange rates as at 02082021 looks outlandish with:

£1=₦705

$1=₦505

€1=₦605

That same dollar exchanged for 0.78k=$1 as at 02081980. The reasons for this anomaly was that the nation was far more productive than it is today, and that has translated to the depressions, deprivation all could feel and touch.

The key reasons for economic growth in 1980 were as follows:a. The nation was a net importer of refined petroleum product.b. Today the nation import all its refined petroleum products even at a higher cost to the crude oil it sold and from which the refined products are made.c. Local assembly plants in Kaduna (PAN) Peugeot cars, Lagos (V0N) Volkswagen, Ibadan (LEYLAND), Enugu (ANAMMCO) buses and trucks, Bauchi Steyr producing trailer and agricultural tractors.

They were not just Assembly, the nation was producing many of the components parts:

i)  Vono in Lagos producing the seats.
ii) Exide in Ibadan producing the batteries not just for Nigeria but for the entire West African market.

iii) Isoglass and TSG in Ibadan producing the windshields.

iv) Ferodo in Ibadan producing the brake pads and discs.

v) Tyres by Dunlop in Lagos and mitchelin in Portharcourt were produced from agricultural products from rubber plantations located in Ogun and Cross River states.

vi) Radio and TV sets were assembled in Ibadan by Sanyo.vii) Refrigerators, freezers and air-conditioners by Thermocool and Debo industries.

viii) Cloths were produced from UNTL Textile mills in Kaduna, Ikeja, Nichemtex Ikorodu and Chellarams from cotton grown in Nigeria.

ix) Water running from pipes produced by Kwalipipe in Kano and Duraplast in Lagos.x) Toilets fitted with WC produced in Kano and Abeokuta.

xi) Cooking with LPG gas stored in gas cylinders produced at the NGC factory in Ibadan.

xii) Electricity flowing through cables produced by the Nigerian Wire and cables, Ibadan, NOCACO in Kaduna and Kabelmetal in Lagos and Portharcourt.

xiii) Flying the Nigerian Airways, about the biggest carrier in air freight in Africa, in legs stuffed in Kaduna tanned leather footwears to most places in the world.

Today the nation, a ‘Tokunboh generation‘ import everything including Akube pants, bras, underskirts – how naked and wretched can a nation become. And, there lies the source of the terrible exchange rates regimen confronting the nation today. Except one is uncharitable and deceitful that is the picture of Nigeria PMB’s inherited and thought he could give a quick fix. The reality has dawn on everyone. So, what is the nation producing or what was it planning to produce.

Our leaders should note that the gangsterisms and blasting of oil pipelines going on in the creeks, is to tell them that the human being is a tremendous, delicate and complicated pieces of machinery, while the human bodies is wired to take a lot of abuse, bad governance, poor leadership being part of them, and subject to all sorts of hidden strains and stresses; that a point finally comes where it won’t take any more. We all know the dismal feeling that comes when tension digs its claws into us. The sense of strain, the pessimism, certainly, there is too much tension in our lives, no water, no fuel, no food, no power, no work.

The nation and its people are (H.A.L.T.) Hungry, Angry, Lonely and Tired. Tension all over the place. This are the kind of tension, not the type of tension that enable us rise to the potential in us, but the kind that limits and cripple the people. The tension is increased by the stridency of the media and their preoccupations with gloom, doom, killings, kidnappings, crime, disaster, inflation and every other unpleasantness known to man, as they are happening. Bad news driving out good ones, as in Greshan’s law, that bad coinage would drive the good. It is sad that the sordid pictures that confronted the nation is that the poor may not cross the poverty line for a long time.

As the nation paints the picture of a people that are suffering at all levels, and inundated with food and security challenges, I quite agree with Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s recent summation that Nigeria was back to where it was in 1980 – a poor pass mark indeed. The real sectors, the agriculture; manufacturing; steel; water resources; environment; science and technology; mining and quarrying made up of solid minerals and petroleum resources. These sectors that have the highest potential for achieving a broad-based economy, but, their performance has been unimpressive. The government should reposition them, give specific direction and measures for the achievement of the goals for these sectors to play the role expected of them.

Agriculture remain the mainstay of the Nigerian economy in terms of national output and employment generation and its development should be accorded the topmost priority, due to its pivotal role in the economy. However, the potential of the sector was neither fully developed nor realised. The application of modern techniques, such as fertilizer and high yielding crop varieties was fraught with problems.

Motorised power accounted for an insignificant proportion of farm power. Access to credit was also a serious constraint to the growth of the sector. In addition, growth was hampered by policy-induced distortions.

The government should reassess and critically examined the status of the sector and outlined specific measures to achieve the nation’s aspirations for agriculture, even as it sought to achieve a substantial turn-around of the sector to adequately play its proper pivotal role in:

i)    food supply;

ii)   employment creation;

iii)  poverty reduction;

iv)  supply of raw materials to industry;

v)   achieving a diversified economy; and

vi)  provision of infrastructure and                       incentives to encourage farmers now         been scared out of the farms by  v v             insurgents and banditry.

The deplorable conditions of the nation’s manufacturing sector was not helping matters due to a horde of factors principal amongst which are:

I) lack of an enabling environment, which      included: 

a)  policy; 

b)  poor macroeconomic environment; 

c)  low access to investible funds due to           underdeveloped long-term capital                 market that match industrial projects’        needs; 

d) dearth of foreign investors and          .          capital due to unfavourable                            environment;   

e) inefficient institutional framework. In the light of the above and more, for the past four decades, circa 1980, the nation was qualified as a country experiencing de-industrialisation.

Achieving rapid and sustained industrial growth is not a sector specific issue. A multi-sectoral programme that involves both the private and public sectors has to be adopted. The poor macroeconomic environment should be addressed through fiscal prudence, transparency and the pursuit of minimal deficits in the post-covid years. For the government to make the manufacturing sector the:

a) engine of growth;

b) transformation of the economy from predominant dependence on primary products to reliance on industry for sustenance;

c) enhanced contribution of industry to national output, to foreign exchange, government earnings and significant contribution to poverty reduction, the dearth of foreign investors should be addressed from multiple angles, viz.:

i)   extensive image laundering to repair           and polish the damage done to the             nation by corruption, Yahoo Yahoo;

ii)  deliberately wooing investors;

iii) global information dissemination to            investors on opportunities and                      potentials for investment.

PMB has said he is so determined to take 100 million of his compatriots out of the poverty line. But if he cannot arrest the slides now that he has unilaterally increased the pump price to #165, and still have the people on his side, his good man image would become a calendar on the wall, the kind where each day is indicated on a page that can be torn off and discarded, underneath the calendar, a scrap basket. His crumpled piece of tinkering but failed efforts and wily sullenness dropped into the scrap basket.

To avoid this scenario, he must deploy his Quakers upbringing, resilience, unassuming and quiet inner strength in a mix that must awake and raise the spirit of Nigerians from the abyss of failure. The PMB administration’s ideas about reforming the nation need not be mere pie in the sky. The change desired is one that goes beyond politics and rhetoric, it is the kind that should have a sustainable and lasting impact even as it impart the people’s character and culture and strength determined by the innermost fibre of who we are, because to effect any changes in the Nigeria situation, he needs to change the people, a changed people is a changed situation.

In reality, he must give succour and hope with all the intensity it deserves to the poor and sea of unemployed in the land; people with no connection, no advantage. To give them the hope, will and can do spirit, that would bend all the laws of probability, erase all the familiar symptoms and symbols of poverty and instil hope and purpose in the body politic. It is never too late.

In fairness, PMB has shocked the world into realising that he is willing indeed ready to assert control over the face and directions of the nation’s political and socioeconomic policies. His willingness, the fuel subsidy removal being one of the effects, has served as a warning salvo to those who have continually, conspired to monopolize our nation’s frail economy and a signal that indeed, Nigeria has declared war against poverty, while bidding a final farewell to deprivation, lack, corruption and inefficiency, but something was missing, character.

There is a silver lining up in the horizon, and one has cautious optimism that it is early days yet, but one thing is certain, and that is that the nation needs homespun solution to its array of debilitating economic malaise, but launching a full scale war on corruption, graft and fleece is the commencement of the rebuilding and re-engineering process.

It is an unsettling distraction and a matter of grave concern that our nation is too dependent on the industrialised world, and therefore, it is the best poetry on the deepest earnest to talk of total independence with a lasting motif of portraying the nation in somewhat unsuccessful conflict with circumstances beyond its controls. PMB must go further and embrace ambitious programmes aimed at raising living standards, and such should have pattern and levels of expenditure that would yield dividend to the economy and by inference the teeming mass of our people.

The nation must not be timid nor scared of dismantling its trading economy, that in any case, are being constantly threatened by an over centralised political system, with the state as principal entrepreneur in an economy that is still based on a dispersed population of small agricultural commodity people producers, and even now, the internal economy is dominated by a political apparatus and overhead that is beginning to weigh ever more heavily on the decentralised agricultural base and a dwindling and volatile crude oil fortunes and market.

As the PMB administration grapples with the contradictions of past development policies:I)  it must attempt to nudge the nation towards strategies more compatible with the nation’s strength and material resources;II) it must in the spirit of ‘change’, liberate the nation from fiscal restraints and massive increases in public expenditures, in an economy where successive government has favoured construction more than transport, raising multistorey buildings and filling them with staff and officials rather than building roads and bridges,III) in this era of ICT, the nation has found itself exposed to a world which had developed quite different systems and with this, a far greater technological power-technologies stimulated by the needs of society, which are now of growing complexity should be high up on the agenda for ‘change’.

With all it has pleased nature to endow the nation, it is sad that we have found ourselves in this precarious situation, but the great news is that the most important changes do not require money-what they require apart from guts and balls is common sense and political will. Now that we expect to move from point A to B through change, the nation can no more be saddled with a Nigeria that smoothen rather than rejuvenate our energy, empathy and enthusiasm.

#Jimi Bickersteth

Jimi Bickersteth is a super blogger and writer.He can be reached on Twitter@alabaemanuel@bickerstethjimi