Since my last post, I have done extensive research on news articles available on Nigeria on the internet, particularly from mainstream international media websites. I noticed something smashing- it was not that bad afterall. Out of the 8 news reports I saw on CNN, 7 were focused on different aspects of progress in Nigeria. First it was the Nigerian music industry, then Governor Fashola's success in Lagos, then it was Eko Atlantic city, then Femi Kuti, followed by Chimmanda Adichie, Chinua Achebe and most recently Wole Soyinka. There has never been a time that I have been more happy to be a Nigerian.
Much of these positive stories dont recieve alot of publicity primarily because people choose to hipe the negative stories and speak less of the positive. So back to my question again, is there a reason to celebrate in 2010 the 50 years anniversary of Nigeria as an independent (or semi-dependent?) state? Away from my skepticism of last week, my answer is YES! Not that so much because all is well, but because there are pockets of good things happening across the country, and we need to recognise these and take them into full account. In Rivers State, the governor has focused to invest in three priority areas: education, health and infrastructure. In Lagos, the governor has focused mainly on three also: education, infrastructure and fiscal discipline. In Cross River, the drive towards tourism has continued. In Imo there has been alot of "greening" effort, a theme which is in consonance with the global dicsuccion around climate change. In Akwa Ibom, there is emphasis on education and massive infrastructure. We have between Kaduna and Zaria an intra-state train service running. These pockets of efforts point in the direction of hope, and perhaps the hope itself is a thing we should celebrate.
But we must keep in mind how our celebrations will help us raise more revenue. I have read abit about how tourism activities are carried in different countries around the world. Nigeria has vast tourism potentials and countless festivals, which have the potentials to attract tourists to Nigeria. I feel often disappointed that I never see fliers on Nigeria in tourist guides or travel agencies. This is worrisome with our vast potentials. Thus, the celebration for our 50 years anniversary should be a means to market our tourism potentials. Our Argungu festival is one of its kind in the world. Our calabar carnival has been attracting huge private sector funding and tourists from the America's and Carribean. Our Rivifest is emerging, and this year will be co-joined by the renowned international film festival. Our osogbo shrine is a UNESCO heritage site. Our countless hills, rifts, valleys, plateaus and national parks are notable sites for relaxation with nature. How about the creeks of the Niger- Delta? If people travel from Dubai to attend the Geneva carnival, ours are remarkable events that they will come to if we make it attractive. We must market these working with travel and tour firms world over.
We must in preparation for 2010 address some of the policy lapses that make it impossible or difficult for bussinesses to thrive in Nigeria. We must fix as many roads as possible. Our constitution review process must be accelerated and must take into account the big national challenges beyond political offices. It must address the issue of federalism, certain essentials like power must be removed from the exclusive list. We must review our rules regarding the registration of businesses, especially SMEs both for national, regional and international investors. Investors are investors. Small scale, medium scale or large scale. Investors are investors, whether they are foreigners or Nigerians. We must acknowledge the presence of both Nigerian and foreign investors in our annual reports and state profiles,and we must put in place the conditions to encourage both.
Our aviation ministry must as a matter of urgency put a face lift to all airports in the country, in anticipation of the huge amount of visitors that the celebrations may attract. If the Ministry of avaition has limitations, it should seek the support of the state governments in the states where these airports are located. The Ministry must also accredit new airlines seeking to fly to these airports. I understand the United airlines for example is seeking to fly into Nigeria starting May 2010, these kinds of offers need to be taken on board. While doing these, we must continue to seek the conditions to enable our airlines fly accross the country without risking the lives of passengers. We need to support our airlines with the enabling conditions, avoid excess charges, and negotiate conditions for them to fly to all countries where we have airlines flying from to our country, and even more. In relation to aviation, we must properly train our immigration, customs, FAAN and other airport staff. While training is provided, stiff measures must be put in place to punish anyone found wanting. Most importantly, we must address the issue of security.
We must put in place a national vision that points in the direction we are going as a nation, and we must seek the means to coordinate all our efforts, as well as those of donor institutions. We must ensure that there is no duplication of efforts accross Ministries Departments and Agencies. We must ensure that all donor institutions, whether from the UN, billateral or foundation donors work inline with our national vision. The days of tokenism must be put aside and we need to focus on what is most needed to advance our country. We need to have a philosophy behind our development agenda that everyone can understand. Our state must be fully in control, while putting in place the enabling conditions for the market to thrive. Studies have shown that despite the need for market forces to drive economic growth, the state needs to be in control to ensure law enforcement and ensure that economic growth leads to development- poverty reduction, income distribution and employment generation. Privatisation is NOT the absolute answer to economic growth and development.
Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister of Ethiopia put it this way in 2006 "Africa is the only continent where we do things the same way over and over again and expect different results." Perhaps we need to look away from world bank/ IMF style development planning methods and look to Asia, notably South Korea and Japan or towards Latin America, notably Venezuela. There must be something to take away from these countries. I emphasis that we must have in place a National Development Philosophy! And we must focus on the key sectors where progress is critical. Infrastructure- transportation, electricity and utilities like water.
Nigeria will be 50 in 2010, and hopefully the celebrations and reflections will plunge us into the era of meaningful change in the lives of ordinary Nigerians. Only time will tell.
Posted at: 04:56 PM | Add Comment
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