Article published in The Nation Newspaper
14/04/2010
GL J has his First Eleven, all 38 of them + two or so ministers, to win the war of Nigerian Development abandoned and neglected by the previous leadership of Babangida, Buhari etc insulting us by seeking a mandate, for they never had a mandate. Remind him that Nigeria is a nation, like him in mourning but in mourning from the lapses of military rule -like inability to improve power, railways and libraries. Let’s find new, younger, brighter leaders. ‘Say No To Babangida et al’. Nigeria is not a recycling business but a service, a disabled service needing funds and ‘good ideas’ for development. What can GL J and his ‘First Eleven’ ministers do before 1-10-2010?
1. Combat student illiteracy: Put an Emergency Book Box Library in the 70,000 schools N2-500,000. Cost – N14– 35b or $93-233m or 1.1– 2.9m barrels of oil i.e. ½ – 1.5 day’s oil for the children ie 1/365- 730th of annual oil income.
2. Combat Malaria: Buy 10-20m Insecticide Treated Nets and distribute through women’s organisations, schools and NURTW. Cost –N1,500 x 10-20m = N15-30b or $ 100-200m or 1.25-2,5m barrels of oil –1/2 day’s to 1.5 days oil output.
3. Use the Ministers for Special Duties, Police, Information and Finance to convince the police to Restore Pride To And In Our Police Service. It pays government’s image, rebranding, to increase salaries/allowances to obviate the multi-billion cost to the citizen of maintaining police through checkpoint corruption. Combat police corruption at checkpoints: Get a police force that does not take money. Urgent, Emergency Checkpoint Inconvenience Allowances –eg N500-N1,000 /Policeman/ Day paid before work, plus ?Checkpoint meals/water subsidy N500 to 1000/day. For 1000 checkpoints nationwide x 10 officers each =10,000 officers @ N500-1,000= N5-N10m allowances/day or N1.8b-3.6b/annum or $12-24m ie 300,000- 600,000 barrels of oil a year or 1/8th-1/3rd of a day’s oil.
4. Minister of Information please re-introduce the Media as a WMD, Weapon for Mass Development -a neglected role. Send a Media Ignorance Elimination Law’ Bill to NASS stating that ‘As part of media social responsibility and contribution to development, all electronic media must allocate 60 minutes/day in divided 30-60 second slots for messages for health or social empowerment to help eliminate ignorance of social and health issues.’ Why should the media charge for ‘social, not for profit’ advertising. It would give NGOs like Boy Scouts and Girl Guides an advert window.
5. Learn quickly from the Solar cities in Spain, Israel to acquire latest Solar Power Equipment and subsidise, zero import duty/duty wavers, for many areas nationwide to cut the demand for power. Plan for 100,000Mw by all means necessary. Ban generators in government offices/homes as a polticial message.
6. Take environment seriously: Ban new generator imports and motorcycles with 2 stroke engines, okada- a major cause of the epidemic of hospital stay, death and injury.
7. Our Finance Minister can execute a ‘No Foreign Loan Policy’ and pay off the current $3.5billion foreign loans as a matter of ‘Proudly Nigerian’ and ‘Great Nation’ policy. At $80+/barrel and $40b+ foreign reserves we have no justification for a loan portfolio. The $3.5 loan is easily paid today by 43.75m barrels of oil ie 22 days oil earnings at $80/barrel, a dangerously high level of loan which should be liquidated while the oil price is high. Nigeria needs no loans. At worst let Nigeria’s CBN ‘lend’ Nigeria money from our foreign reserves.
8. Combat the high interest rates and poor exchange rates in Nigeria.
9. Revamp Roads: Nigerians do not want more ‘rip off’ ‘Toll Roads’ having spent money maintaining vehicles damaged on neglected government roads. We need road rehabilitation by local contracting, Pothole Elimination Project’ complete with road warning signs and a web based www. Pothole Watch where we can report potholes. Divide long major road legths, Ore-Benin, Ibadan Ife, South West Road, etc among five or more contractors to finish in 6 months. Learn from the River Niger Dredging Project. There must be a government deliberate dicision to ‘Speed Up Contracts’ with 2-3 three shifts/ 24 hours/weekends to telescope construction time to meet 1-10-2010 for example. There should be no pothole within 1 month and job creation.
10. Bridges: The FCT and Abujaplan a second airport runway at N63billion and have built the ten lane Abuja –airport road cost N53billion. We must urgently start ‘The 2nd Niger Bridge’ to carry more ‘passengers’/ day than Abuja second runway will carry/year. Cost? Start with N63b+53billion?? ‘Abuja people no be the only Nigerians, O!
11. Remodel Railways: Nigeria requires both direction North South, East West 2-4,000 km of fast rail track and it can and must be laid by ‘Can-Do’ companies in 9 months employing millions of Nigerians and working the country 24 hours for a giant National Rail Project.
12. Allocate N2,500/classroom for 10-20 posters/ 1million classrooms in Nigeria for National Educational Posters in subjects and social issues like an HIV/AIDS, Clean hands, Anti-corruption, Science and Technology, to improve the classroom environment. A picture is worth 1000 words except in Nigeria. Cost: N2.5billion.
13. National Patient Disharge Summary Sheet: Enact a law that every patient leaving a clinic or hospital has a Discharge Summary to prevent mismanagement.
14. Help combat Maternal Mortality by introducing Electronic Fetal Heart Monitors, eg Sonicaid, for every maternity and clinic and delivery room private and public.
CountdowNigeria@50- 155 demands the implementation of these ideas by 1-10-2010.