Hitting our target!

The following is my take on the issue and I came to this conclusion after much contemplation, and reading so many comments on the presidential debate and election and blah blah blah....and after looking around my environment and getting repeatedly pissed at the fact that till now we all havent got it. We are all getting carried away by who was eloquent, who appears bold and confident, who seems competent etcetera...what happens if we elect the seemingly correct candidate into office, and 4 years down the line we are on the same spot. No light (power), no railways, no infrastructural development and no progress (which is a very likely possibility)

Even Obama who understood change so well had (and is still having) a hard time translating promises into real time deliverables. And the candidates we have today do not measure up to Obamas credentials (except maybe the more intellectual types like Utomi and others...just my opinion anyway)

Bottomline is that beyond being avid spectators of the race to the big seat in Aso Rock, we should be keen to look at other issues that do affect the fortunes of a nation. I know that bad leadership will always be inimical to a nations progress, but we should not get carried away only by the man or men who will occupy the presidency but also at the systems and issues that affect leadership as a whole in Nigeria. They are afterall only men

Issues like establishing systems to make our leaders listen to us (even if it means getting on the streets like Egypt and Tunisia); accountability in public office; security and the police; public-private partnerships as a tool for development; the educational system and health sector; fighting corruption.

I am saying that when we as a people make a case for these kinds of things, then we will have MORE CONTROL over the way our leaders lead us. I am also saying in other words that even if we elect the best possible candidate, without a system of checks and balances, he may become either terribly misguided, or sadly complacent. 

I personally am tired of getting my hopes dashed. I place no faith in any one particular candidate. I would be more hopeful if people are united by common values and ideas. 

However if I were asked who I would vote for among our present crop....hmmm.....

I would have preferred a Prof Utomi as president, and someone experienced in politics (but of integrity) as VeePee.

However that is just a pipe dream (dreaming is still free last time I checked).

It is obvious that NONE of our present crop of candidates is qualified or competent...Perhaps in Nigeria we should consider scrapping the position of President and institute a 'Presidential committee' so that we could have a combo of people leading the nation, with the likes of Utomi, Fola, Buhari, Shekarau and Ribadu all together...(another dream I know)

For me I am concentrating on life after the election, I am looking at 4 years from now, I am looking at you and I...no man is a perfect leader. The uprising in the Mid East shows us that leaders cannot take us anywhere if we are unwilling to lead ourselves.

That is my take on the issue. You can quote me

Keys to Nigerias Infrastructural development

My Naija peoples, in this post I am talking about Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), a sustainable effort between the public and private sectors, in which each contributes planning and needed resources to accomplish mutual shared objectives. It is plain as the nose on my face that dynamic partnerships between the public and private sector have become the cradle of economic growth and development across the globe. All over the world, PPPs have continued to drive infrastructure development.

Since the 1960s, major capital projects in the developed world have been executed through PPP arrangements. In the past few decades, developed economies such as the United Kingdom have showcased a variety of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) for the delivery of infrastructure, public utilities and large-scale projects. Emerging markets such as India and South Africa are also recording successes using tried and tested partnerships to create, expand and modernize infrastructure.

Overwhelming evidence indicate that PPPs are relatively cost efficient, foster best practices for sharing and transfer of risk, assure superior value for money, save time, streamline contracts and simplify procurements, facilitate innovation through public-private cohesion, eradicate bureaucratic and political processes, encourage technology transfer all the while delivering infrastructure and services. The World Bank estimates that every 1% of (government) funds invested in infrastructure leads to an equivalent 1% increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

No one can deny the fact that Nigeria’s infrastructure challenge is enormous. The Managing Director of Urban Development Bank of Nigeria (UDBN), Mr. Kunle Oyinloye, last year, said that the nation requires about N32 Trillion for infrastructural development in the next ten years to meet the federal Government’s vision 20-20-20 economic targets.

Unfortunately, Nigeria has not had an encouraging record of investment in infrastructure. Lately however, attention to infrastructure development is gaining momentum. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently called for the establishment of a Nigeria Infrastructure Fund where funds could be mobilized and developed to address Nigeria’s huge infrastructural deficit. It also stated that in terms of estimated funding gaps in infrastructure, Nigeria needs to invest $100billion (about N15 trillion) over the next 10 years.

Evidently, the government alone cannot gather together the resources (finance and expertise) to meet this need and the involvement of the private sector is not just desirable, but indispensable. It is no wonder therefore that the majority of infrastructure projects currently underway at both state and federal levels are powered by PPPs.

And opportunities for these types of partnerships abound. The Cross River state (CRS) government for example is seeking investors to develop the agricultural sector as it aims to see the region become a major food producer and exporter. Advantages of investing in Cross Rivers Agribusiness? Export promotion zones, a port, accessibility to Lagos and Abuja. These provide easy links to large markets and encourage faster clearance of goods.

Incentives?

The World Bank Sub-National Doing Business Report for Nigeria ranks CRS as one of the top four states for ease of doing business in Nigeria. The state’s One-stop Investment Center (OSIC) provides investment information, services and advice to potential investors. In addition, the state government is working to provide adequate infrastructure to meet growing consumer and business demands. These include:

• $150-million project to expand and upgrade Margaret Ekpo International Airport.
• Calabar Monorail
• $36-million investment on 19.8km rail connecting international airport, Calabar and TINAPA resort.
• Calabar Energy City, which is designed to develop an energy sector cluster with residential, commercial and industrial areas.
• Power Generation – there is an ongoing project to connect all communities to the national grid. There is also increased focus is also on renewable energy sources.

Akwa Ibom State has large deposits of a number of mineral resources that can be commercially exploited. And in Katsina state, preliminary results of a survey conducted indicates the presence of a large quantity of diamonds in the state.

All I am trying to point out is that opportunities abound for both the government and the private sector to take advantage of, for mutual benefits and for the development of the Nigerian society as a whole. Our slow national development is easily tied to the deficiency of  quality and functional infrastructure. In so many countries around the world including Africa, PPP strategies have been successfully utilized and exploited. Nigeria should not be an exception.

In Mr. Anti-corruption on point?

 

A RECENT issue of The Economist examined the presidential bid of Nuhu Ribadu, Nigeria’s former anti-corruption chief. Mr Ribadu made his name as the first head of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2003. In this role, he pursued politicians and civil servants who were embezzling the energy revenues of Africa’s biggest oil and gas producer 

http://www.economist.com/blogs/baobab/2010/11/interview_nihu_ribadu

An interview with Nigeria's Mr Anti-Corruption

Nov 12th 2010, 16:23 by S.A. | LAGOS 

Mr Ribadu’s fortunes dipped when Umaru Yar’Adua took office as president in 2007. The sleazebuster was sidelined and later fled the country, returning only after Mr Yar’Adua’s death in May this year. He now hopes to run for the top job himself in elections due in early 2011.
Baobab talked to Mr Ribadu about whether he would be able to run a clean campaign in Nigeria’s often murky political scene.
Baobab: Why have you decided to run for president next year?
Nuhu Ribadu: I understand now that to bring about change I need political power at the highest level. That means the presidency. I have worked under a president, and many say we did a good job at the EFCC, but when change came [and a new president took office] all our work was destroyed. It was all reversed.”
Baobab: How will you use presidential power to continue your fight against corruption?
NR: Just appointing me will be half the answer. When people see me, they will sit up and know that the era of corruption is over. On the practical level, I will run a transparent government that publishes accounts online. I will create “whistleblower laws” to protect the identities of those who expose corruption. I will reform the police and the judiciary.
Corruption causes all the problems that we have here. It causes the poverty and the insecurity. And there is no one better qualified to address the problem of corruption in this country than me.

(True2Society: Let me interrupt at this point; a bold claim here by Mr. Ribadu wouldn't you say?)

Baobab: Nigerian political campaigns are costly affairs that often rely on the sponsorship of unsavoury characters. Can you run a clean campaign in a dirty system? For example, will you probe your sponsors to find out the sources of their wealth?
NR: Everything about me has always been clean and this will be a clean campaign...in any case, I will not need as much money as other parties because I am not going to bribe anyone. My campaign is about winning over people with my ideas, not my money.
But I will not probe anybody. I am not the EFCC chairman here - I am a politician who is trying to get people to support me. If money is coming to change a system that needs change, why should [the source] matter? (T2S: Once again I interrupt. For someone who is supposed to be the nemesis of corruption, why wouldn't the source of money used for your political campaign matter? It could certainly be the cause of your downfall, if your enemies funded your campaign with money stolen from the national treasury, and then turn around and say you are an accomplice...Hmmm. I wonder)  Why try to destroy this opportunity?
Baobab: You have chosen to run against the ruling People's Democratic Party with the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). Some Nigerian are raising eyebrows at this choice. Bola Tinubu, one of the ACN’s most powerful members, has been under EFCC investigation for years. Does this concern you?
NR: You should not worry about individuals when you are working on a project of this magnitude. It might affect the outcome...I am convinced that the mission we are out to do is not about an individual.
Baobab: Your critics also note that you have never held political office before. Why not serve as a senator or governor for one term, and then run for president in 2015?
NR: We can’t wait for 2015. Nigeria's problems must be arrested immediately. There is no way we can allow this mess to continue. Also, for the first time, the ruling party is in real trouble. Goodluck Jonathan [the incumbent] is from a very small ethnic group...Sadly, even if he were the best person for the job, northern Nigeria would never accept it. He is not electable. 
(T2S: It just amazes me the way we can't do politics in Nigeria without taking a shot at the opposition. I though he just said a few sentences ago that his mission is not about individuals but about ideas???)

In any case, I posted this today because I was just wondering about the candidates presenting themselves to rule this nation for the next four years. I don't see any bright lights on the horizon when I think about that. However that is not to say that change cannot come through one of these individuals. Indeed Ribadu has earned some degree of respect from his exploits in EFCC. He is probably a good anti-corruption crusader but a poor politician (hey, just my amateur opinion).  Let us just hope, pray, wait and see...

Election time (Revolution!)

Fellow Nigerians

Let us re-strategize

We surely can’t continue

To listen to their lies

They promise us the world

Before they get elected

But after all is said and done

It’s we who are rejected

For greed and lack of vision

We waste our potential

They feast on our resources

They have no good intentions

The common man and woman

Must rise up from the dust

Vote with your conscience

Revolution is a must

A new Nigerian nation

Sunshine after the rain

We all must play our parts

Victory is ours to gain

Don’t leave it all to chance

Insist on what is right

Oppose corrupt officials

Resist with all our might

Shawn Asala © 2011