Anthony Kila writes on the need for the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Mr Wale Edun, to put policies in place to make Nigeria destination of first choice by foreign investors.

Dear Chief Wale Edun,

We suspended the first part of this epistle to you, saying that we need policies aimed at attracting investors who invest in dollars and other foreign currencies and who are looking for land, people, projects, and even the sun to build factories, refineries, roads, and hospitals. Not foreign investors that come with little to look for for funds in Nigeria. There is to be a clear message that says, “Nigeria is open for business”. That is a slogan; actions must, however, match words. Naturally, we must start by keeping the investors in the country, not losing them.

Now that we have officially started the second quarter of the four quarters for which the administration you serve is elected, you need to dance more than ever. There is a lot to be done, and there is an awful lot you can personally lead and should do simultaneously.

An excellent place to start is with a clear, conscious, and coordinated effort to ensure that businesses and investors who intend to leave the country do not easily do so. To do that, I suggest you, as Coordinating Minister for the economy, open or help others open a desk whose task is to liaise with businesses and investors currently in the country who, for any reason, are planning to exit the country. A kind of “Talk to us before you leave” desk. This kind of engagement will give you a direct and detailed idea of why businesses and investors want to leave your country. Where possible, it will also allow you to offer them bespoke reasons to stay and persuade them to stay with direct interventions; where not possible, you will at least get a complete and quick understanding of new gaps to fill and opportunities to advertise to others.

In all cases, operating a “Talk to us before you leave” desk will send a message to the economic world in general, as well as businesses and investors in particular, that your country cares about those generating wealth and jobs and that you will go out of the way to keep them. Yes, such a message will reassure existing businesses and investors and encourage potential ones to come to the country.

In our bid to shore up our foreign reserve and, by so doing, fortify the naira, diversification remains critical and many before you have said so. You now have a chance to dance to action. My suggested path is to add the increase in quantity and production quality to the mantra of diversification.

Those who think we can, in this time and age, build a productive country through import tariffs and protective measures are wrong. The right thing to do is to create a generation of producers and geopolitical areas capable of producing some items, not all that we can consume and export. The key is competitive advantage via specialisation in the formation of skills and production of goods and services.

As coordinating minister for the economy, I propose that you give the required impetus to and work with other government agencies and offices to identify and remove the hurdles to the production of goods and services that can be consumed in Nigeria and exported to reduce general prices, create jobs and earn foreign currency.

Such an exercise will allow you to discover how many production and operation managers we train in the country and how many are needed annually. CIAPS is already training some, and a lot more are required.

As minister for finance, I also propose that you look at tax policies that will aid the production of goods and services and foster the creation of jobs and wealth.

There seems to be a general frenzy for more: Workers want higher salaries, traders want to charge more money for their goods and services, and the government wants more loans and taxes to function. That is an understandable same of the same.

I argue that it is time we try another style of dance.

Let us explore policies that give less and ask for less. Let us reduce how much the government charges when we deal and how much it pays when it provides; ask landlords to freeze house rents; ask states to freeze or even reduce charges on land, VAT, etc.

How do we fund the very needed infrastructure and other services?

A reader might ask, the answer is a different dance from the old steps. We need to think of entering into private partnerships and, of course, (re) introduce that dreaded concept of privatisation. For every kobo we need to spend, for every road or facility we need to build, let us see if there are private companies wishing to invest in creating them. We don’t have to sell off every road and every facility in the country. Private partners can build and operate on behalf of the government; they can develop and transfer after some time. In all cases, the key is that the government does not have to look for money for its activities or at least look for more.

Dear Minister, just last week, we read that the Federal Government is taking the state government to court; my comments on that move will be for another day.

My input for you today is to find a way to work with each state to see how they fit into a national economic plan. Let us be clear: I am not talking about giving money to states; the idea is to discover how states can contribute to your dance of giving less and doing more. Let us imagine a country where each region of the country or even each of the 36 states of the federation is known for producing some goods and services or is specialised in creating specific skills or other.

There is an excellent initiative in town called the consumer credit scheme managed by the newly formed Nigerian Credit Consumer Credit Corporation (known as “CrediCorp”). Some of us are worried that the founding vision of this project is being blurred and its operation adulterated from what it ought to be.

Dear Minister, that initiative is a needed one and can become legacy project; you have a duty of stepping in personally and directly to avoid it being bastardised into another wholesale lending rather than the proper consumer credit scheme it was built to be.

Join me on Twitter @anthonykila to share your insights and continue these conversations.

-Kila is an Institute Director at CIAPS. www.ciaps.org

Anthony Kila writes on the melo drama that played out on Wednesday in Wuse, Abuja when operatives of the anti-corruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, were prevented from effecting the arrest of the immediate past governor of Kogi state, Alhaji Yahaya Bello.

Dear Readers,

The subject of today’s epistle is an afterthought. It is an unplanned event that, like trouble, forced itself into our plan, it came without invitation and brought its own chair to sit without asking if we have space for it.

If this sounds metaphorical to you, it is because you were not in Abuja on Wednesday 17th April 2024, trust me, it was literal to residents and those that had reasons to go through the Wuse zone 4 area of Abuja. The normally serene area turned to a stage of sheer drama filled with noise, songs, fear, mob and armed warriors loyal to warring factions.

We later got to know that the drama of the day was a Kogi’s dance in Abuja. My first instinct whilst finding a peaceful corner to mind my business, was to pray that “may we not choke on what we did not eat…”

Kogi’s dance in Abuja had three warring factions, performers on one side were the Eagles Soldiers dressed in black, made up of operatives of the Economic and Finance Crime Commission (EFCC), on the other side were two groups made up of armed policemen and unarmed but fierce militia representing the past and present Governor of Kogi state. Alhaji (Dr) YahayaAdoza Bello CON also known as the “White Lion” and Alhaji Ahmed UsmanOdodo.

I don’t think Ododo has a doctorate yet nor has he got a national honour but let us give him time…

The trophy of the day was the White Lion. EFCC warriors wanted to take the White Lion away to get him to explain why he took and ate some meat that he was not supposed to have touched. The meat he took, according to the EFCC, is worth about N84 billion fraud. The White Lion would not yield to go with them and Ododo agreed with him. A man that backs his support with action, Ododo did not just support from afar morally and spiritually, he did not just send capable troops to the field. He personally went to the field himself to battle for the White Lion.

Ododo’s appearance on the stage of battle was exhilarating; the crowd cheered, guns were fired, moves were made and, in the end, Ododo, we are told, won the day and took the White Lion away. EFCC operatives left with nothing. They promised to be back, I guess they remembered the eagle’s image on their outfit for after they left the scene with nothing they resorted to tweets, but do eagles tweet? Clearly, the White Lion of Kogi is not Bobrisky…

The first account of most news outlets in the country was to report the event as a siege laid by EFCC to the home of Yahaya Bello. Allow me to say on behalf of those of us who think every report should follow clear set of rules and contain as well as answer a minimum number of questions that we are not impressed. Our editors can and should do better. Our news room missed an opportunity to tell readers what the EFCC was doing? Was Yahaya Bello resisting an arrest or an invitation?

Editors also missed the chance to inform readers and viewers on why and how EFCC was at Yahaya Bello house.

Dear Editors, please let us go back to the basic rule of making sure every story answers the “who”, “what” “why” “when” “where” and “how” questions.

Kogis dance in Abuja was held in Wuse but it calls into question the Inspector General of Police too. Clearly, it is time we have a conversation (another conversation) about the role of policemen and other security officers attached to past and serving governors. What exactly is their role?

Beyond protecting these governors from being assassinated by criminals or overwhelmed by the mob. Are they allowed to resist arrest? It is easy to see why security aides that spend so much time of the day with governors and past governors and get so much perks from them can be loyal to those that they protect, it is just human. Beyond the human angle though, is there a set of rules, code of conduct or protocol that establish the supremacy of the state and law in case of conflict of interests?

Do we have in place a set of procedures to deploy in cases where the governor goes rogue? What are the implications for officers that aide resistance of arrest or conspire to violate the law? Is there a chain of command that can aid the law and its officers in cases where a governor decides to break the law or turn against the officers of the law?

During the Kogis dance in Abuja, there was a lot of hailing and cheering for the governors in battle, who are these extras that came to dance? I doubt they are employed citizens making or trying to make their honest living. My bigger concern is that will such people, so used to playing extras, beggars and shouters be ever be able to learn a trade or keep a job? Many of them were young, I doubt if they enjoy the kind of life style or have access to the aspirations of the families of their Excellencies, Distinguished and Honourable, yet they are children of some people too. Zimbabwean born economist, Wellington GarikaiBonga, of the Liverpool John Moores University wrote a paper, published in 2003, that investigates the “weaponization of poverty” using the case of Zimbabwe.

Sadly, Nigeria has too much to offer here too.

Special greetings to the people of Kogi the land of young governors…

Join me if you can on twitter @anthonykila to continue these conversations.

-Kila is Institute Director at CIAPS. www.ciaps.org

Anthony Kila applauds the initiative of the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in Lagos state to establish a Medical University solely for the production of 1,500 medical doctors annually in the Centre of Excellence.

Dear Governor BabajideSanwo-Olu,

The news that Lagos state, under your stewardship and in this year, will set up a medical varsity that will produce 1,500 medical doctors yearly is arguably the best news we, as a people, have received in 2024. Yes, I know the year is just five days old today, and a lot can still happen, but for me the year is already used, not a new year anymore and I have started my count down so for me it 361 days to go.

Whilst at it, let us clarify three basic points here before we procced. Firstly, “we as a people” refers not just to the people of Lagos, who undoubtedly will be the first and most positively affected people by the Made in Lagos Doctors initiative but also the rest of Nigeria and potentially other parts of the world as we shall soon see.

Secondly, the use of the term “stewardship” here is deliberate and I am using it in the theological sense to remind us of the notion of human and personal accountability and responsibility for the management of the earth, all its resources and any idea of gift that we encounter in the world.

Yes, I am still in the mood, Christmas was just a few days ago and I did see the Governor in church clasping his hands and nodding a lot during the service as he seemed to intensely follow the mass.

Thirdly, this idea is the best news of the year, so far, not just because most other news items have been so far sad or discouraging but because it is in itself a good idea.

So, this is not the case of a good student looking bright because he or she is placed in a dull class but the story of a good student by any standard…This Made in Lagos Doctors idea merits the best idea of the year so far not only because it objectively meets a cogent need of Lagos State and the whole country but also because it showcases a thinking method that I consider crucial for development and prosperity.

The theological notion of stewardship and the secular concept of strategic thinking have one striking element in common: the ability to analyse real and critical elements and variables with a bid not only to solve problems that might turn drama into disaster but ultimately turn challenges into opportunities.

I sincerely hope other States in the federation think of imitating and even emulating the Made in Lagos Doctors initiative. If they don’t then Lagos should be prepared and positioned to export to them.

A cursory look at the Nigerian economy and budget and their juxtaposition with the economies and budgets of the foreign countries that Nigerian doctors and other health practitioners want to emigrate to will readily show any one capable of critical thinking that there is no way that Nigerian hospitals can compete with what foreign hospitals are willing to pay for doctors and other medical practitioners.

In such situation, the modern, dynamic, sustainable and efficient solution is not stopping doctors from leaving the country as some dull legislators have proposed or vexatiously declare that Nigeria has more than enough doctors like the former Labour Minister, Dr Chris Ngige, spurted.

The modern, dynamic, sustainable and efficient solution to the exodus of doctors and other medical practitioners is to analyse and understand our reality which is made of a very high population of young people, low cost of labour and other factors of production and then procced to produce more doctors and other medical practitioners.

Not say it, do it. You, Mr. Governor, have done well not only by showing your administration gets it, you have also been impressive by indicating when the project will be completed. Please don’t procrastinate and don’t postpone, this page will not be gentle with you if you fail to deliver that facility that can produce at least 1,500 doctors in 2024. Whilst your intention is clear and timed, details of your intention is still very sketchy and we look froward to getting more information.

At the moment, it is not clear if you want to establish a new medical varsity or you want to expand our existing Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH). It is logical to assume that a new complex will be built, we would like to know where you want to locate the facility and why such location?

As we await your answers and further details of your plan, here are some tips for you and your team. Consider locating the new facility in an underdeveloped part of Lagos, that way the facility will take development and prosperity not disgruntlement to the residents. This project should not just train and produce medical doctors, you should expand your scope to train and produce other medical practitioners too. Not only doctors are leaving or planning to leave the country. The Made in Lagos Doctors initiative should not be seen or treated just as a medical programme but rather a huge social and economic project that will generate jobs and create wealth for Lagos.

I recommend you take a holistic approach and to go beyond your usual circle to deliberately seek for fresh ideas and input from diverse sectors of the society.

In choosing your contractors and consultants for the project, make it a point to listen to new people that you have not worked with so far.

Dear Mr. Governor, this is 2024, no single project or venture will succeed if it does not have a global outlook. Though this Made in Lagos Doctors initiative is for Lagos state, I strongly recommend that the curriculum and the whole process meet the best practices in the world.

There are still too many doctors and other medical practitioners that do not seem to understand that manifested empathy and compassion, time management and good communication skills, patient advocacy and patient centred care are crucial part of their profession.

Let this new Made in Lagos Doctors initiative change that and help us raise the standard in Nigeria. Whilst it is true that Nigerian hospitals cannot pay what doctors and other practitioners can earn elsewhere, it is however possible to consciously improve the conditions of medical students and practitioners. They deserve the best as they deal with the most precious asset we have: life.

Join me if you can on twitter @anthonykila to continue these conversations.

-Kila is Institute Director at CIAPS. www.ciaps.org.

Anthony Kila writes on the need for the Governor AbdulRazaq AbdulRahman-led Nigeria Governors Forum to complement palliative measures being put in place by Federal Government to cushion the effect of the removal of fuel subsidy on the citizens in their respective states.

Dear Governor AbdulRazaq AbdulRahman,

You are getting today’s epistle by virtue of your role not just as Governor of Kwara state but mainly by the position you occupy as Chairman of Nigeria Governors Forum.

The missive is addressed to you in the hope that through you all other Governors of the federation will be informed of our considerations on the state of the nation and with you other governors will endeavor to take some proactive measures that will help us find local solutions to national issues. Il

It must be said here that there is in our public discourse a general tendency to focus heavily on actions of the national government and lightly on state governments.

The “why” is easy to understand but that does not make it right. Today’s missive is also a contribution to change tone and theme of our public discourse on national issues.

What is the state of the Nation today?

We have a country of confused and helpless citizens who find themselves dealing with high cost of living, low levels of income, scarcity of essential goods and services and filled with uncertainty about what will come next. Let’s use  personalized examples so we are very clear about what we are talking about.

The national minimum wage in the country is  N30,000 so a person that earns N50,000 should be considered or at least factually categorized as earning above minimum wage. The problem is that with the way things have gone in the past two months, that lucky person is now likely to need (thirty thousand Naira) N30,000 to get to work and back home 20 days a month. The situation gets worse and more complicated when you factor in the fact that most items (such as food and drink, house rent and electricity, education and healthcare, etc.) are even costing more which means our lucky above national minimum wage salary earner that has less disposable income after tax and transport now needs to deal with higher prices.

Why are the people confused? Let us face it, most people, even the ones that did not vote for the candidate that became president, did not see this kind of hardship on the horizon. The prevailing mantra amongst the less partisan and more practical Nigerians and observers, till about two months ago, was that any government will be better than this one. May our tomorrow be better than our yesterday. Why are the people helpless?

Let us face the situation we find ourselves was not caused by the people and the kind of problems we are facing are not what individuals can tackle themselves.

Can we blame people for the way they voted? Maybe if you insist on doing that but this is not a time to blame, it is a time to build.

It is my view that the best way to solve the national issues we are facing is to build our way out of problems and I propose we start from local solutions. Rather than wait on the Federal Government to pronounce national policies that will solve the problem in the country, I recommend that States and their local government should lead in finding solutions to their problems.

The cost of transportation has radically gone up because the federal government has removed the petrol subsidy that has kept prices low and stable for a long period of time. I don’t want to jinx anything but rarely do prices go down in Nigeria once it goes up. An effective and efficient way to deal with this increase in price is to vary and reduce the demand of petrol. Let each state encourage the supply and usage of mass public transportation, across the country.

We do not have enough train services.

At CIAPS we estimated that the whole of Nigeria needs about 10,000 new buses that can take people to schools, work and to the markets. That is slightly more than 12 new buses per local government in the country. Some local governments will need a lot less while some will need a lot more. Each state should do their own sums and find out their specific needs. It easy easier to deal with issues when you are talking about providing hundreds of buses or thousands of anything. The best way to provide and manage these bus services is not for state government to turn to transportation companies but to invite private companies and individuals that are already in the trade or intend to join the transport business come into their states to provide the service.

The state (government) just needs to set standards and provide fiscal incentives, work with finance institutions to provide funds.

If well managed, a transportation revolution can be carried out zero cost to state governments.

One thing we have learnt quickly is that gas costs less than petrol for transportation. Another means of reducing the cost of and demand for petrol we need is to increase the use of gas for transportation. Most existing vehicles do not have the facility to use gas but luckily it is possible to quickly convert and amend them to gas powered vehicles.

To make a substantial move from petrol to gas transportation, we need gas filling stations and people who can convert petrol powered vehicles to gas powered ones.

Most petrol stations have enough space and other facilities to serve gas, they just need to be activated. What the country needs is more technicians that can help convert existing vehicles to gas powered vehicles.

At CIAPS we estimated that whole of Nigeria needs about 5,000 new technicians that can convert and manage gas powered vehicles. That is slightly over six technicians per local government. Some local governments will need a lot less some will need a lot more. Each state should do their own sums and find out their specific needs then work institutions and other centres that can train people that will convert and manage gas vehicles.

The federal government has declared a state of emergency on food security. Let each state governor come out with a plan detailing what they produce or can produce in each of their local governments and what they need to secure this production.

Join me if you can on twitter @anthonykila to continue these conversations.

-Kila is Institute Director at CIAPS. www.ciaps.org.

Anthony Kila describes as balderdash and baseless recent defence put up by former presidential spokesperson, Mallam Garba Shehu, over his principal, ex-President Muhammadu Buhari’s failure to remove fuel subsidy while in office.

Dear Readers

One of the many news items worthy of attention of socio-political observers and citizens of Nigeria last week was the statement released by the former spokesperson to President Muhammadu Buhari, Mallam Garba Shehu, about the removal of subsidy.

Since we now have a new president and he has his own new spokesperson thereby making Mallam Garba Shehu no more a spokesperson to the president but just a normal private citizen, it is yes possible, but wrong, to miss his statement.

It is wrong to miss statements from the men and women of yesterday because they have deep knowledge of and direct responsibilities for our today…

Anyway, in case you missed it, the crux of the statement released by GarbaShehu was to let us know that his boss, the former President, MuhammaduBuhari, did not remove the fuel subsidy not because he was inept or incapable but for political reasons and that his boss and his administration conceived and led the removal of many other subsidies.

Interestingly, the statement was titled “Buhari didn’t fail to remove subsidy”. Please hold on to the title as we shall come back to it. Reading through the long list of subsidies listed by GarbaShehu as removed by his administration, one would be excused for thinking this country is a nation of subsidies or that the past government, led by the tall lanky General, campaigned for and was elected to remove subsidies.

Some private and public commentators have had course to consider the statement issued by GarbaShehu as a moment of honesty by a public figure. The man himself used the expression “honest” in his statement.

In his own words: “we must be politically honest with ourselves. The Buhari administration in its last days could not have gone the whole way because the APC had an election to win. And that would have been the case with any political party that was seeking election for another term with a new principal at its head. Poll after polls showed that the party would have been thrown out of office if the decision as envisaged by the new Petroleum Industry Act was made.”

Confession is not honesty. Confession is generally an admission of guilt, it, in most cases, appears after an act that should not have been committed but that has been committed or when a deed that should have been done has not been done.

In that sense, confession has to be honest and complete. Anything short of a complete admission or laced with justification is no more a confession but a defence, in most cases, defences are rarely truly honest.

By definition and etymology, honesty is linked to honour, fairness, decorum and discipline, free of the quest to win popularity contest, devoid of conspirative deeds, hypocrisy or double speaking, it is a quality, a virtue associated with boldness, confidence in truth, secularly, an index of commitment to principles and religiously a sign of submission to faith and commandment of the divine.

Honesty appears before and during an event not after, honesty is tested and displayed when lying for comfort or interest or out of fear might rationally be deemed to be the convenient option.

Like all virtues, honesty is a personal trait or deed and by practice a source of collective inspiration chronicled to lift more people, a standard set for others to achieve and reference point for society or institution budling.

Whilst the intention to explain and justify the omissions and misdeeds of his administration is clear, it is also clear to me that the statement issued by GarbaShehu does nothing to inspire we the people nor fortify our institutions. Like an annoying artisan or a mischievous trader that announces one item then trying to get you to use another, GarbaShehu titled his statement “Buhari didn’t fail to remove subsidy” then went on to explain why the man failed to do something he had eight years to do.

We really need to pray against this vexatious national sickness that makes people think the “why” trumps the “what” or that explanations can excuse or even make disappear disappointments and pain they cause.

As if affected by some sort of amnesia or allergy to confession, the former presidential spokesperson totally ignored the known and documented fact that his boss had at many times stated that fuel subsidy does not exist. Like an atheist that does not believe in heaven and hell, from where do you find the moral authority to remove what you have said does not exist? The idea that we are told to accept as honest, albeit “political honest”, that a man many of us hailed, defended, promoted and campaigned for as Mai Gaskiya (the truthful or honest one) will agree to and even lead a plan to hold down what he thinks is just and needed so that his party can win an election is not just personally sickening, it is deteriorative to our collective bond and institution building.

With the kind of deteriorative honesty proposed by GarbaShehu, how does one explain to and inspire young people to believe that once a president or governor is sworn into office he or she must and will act only and always in the interest of the whole country never in the interest of a part of it, be that part political party, ethnic group or religious unit?

It gets worse when one remembers that the same people had no qualms in forging on with the botched attempted to change the naira. Can we forget the outburst of the candidate turn president in Abeokuta or the rebellion of leading members of the same party that GarbaShehu today claims they were trying to help to win? “Second base jare” in the voice of FelaKuti.

Citizens are not daft; they might be poor or ignorant but rarely daft as governance touches a part of their body often sharper than the brain: the pocket.

When citizens do silly or criminal things, like selling their votes or hailing their oppressors, it is because their pockets are telling them not to trust institutions or have hope in justice.

In government, there will always be difficult decisions to take.

The honest leader and government must develop the clarity of vision to identify what sacrifices are needed to be made for the sake of prosperity and stability, the projected benefits of the requested sacrifice or even pain, predict possible duration in the wilderness then find the courage of voice to explain the harvest that will come and the consequences of not taking tough decisions.

Join me if you can on twitter @anthonykila to continue these conversations.

-Kila is Institute Director at CIAPS. www.ciaps.org.

Anthony Kila writes that President Muhammadu Buhari is leaving Nigeria worse than he met it upon assumption of office on May 29, 2015.

Dear Readers

Regardless of whatever happens to anyone, today’s epistle will be the last that will be written and shared under the normal and legal tenure of President MuhammaduBuhari.

What will from after this weekend be termed as “Buhari era” in the 4th republic stated on Friday May 29th in 2015 and it is scheduled to finish by Monday 29th May 2023, that is barring any extraordinary occurrence.

It has been eight long years of wonders, pain, hope and disappointments.To each their own, as we await the new administration, there are those hoping and working to ensure it is the person declared by INEC as president elect (Aswiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu) that will take over from Buhari, there are those hoping and working to ensure it is some else that will take over from Buhari.

It must be said that President Buhari himself has shown all possible outwardly signs that he is ready to go.

Such are good signs that should be recognised and praised. Yes, an elected leader that shows he is ready to leave office at the end of his tenure should be an ordinary and automatic event not worthy of news let alone praise.

Alas too many other African leaders tend to struggle with the concept of obeying simple commandments: There appears to be something in the air that leads African leaders into a kind of psychosis that makes them want to remain in power beyond their constitutional or even decency tenure. Thankfully, not so with Buhari, the man even seems eager to leave office and head back to his country home in Dauara.

On his way out though, he has been saying things that makes one believe that he thinks we the people are going to miss him. I think such thoughts come from his idea of how well he has done for the country, maybe he is considering his efforts and intentions.

Some people tend to agree with him.

Let me state very clearly so that all can hear and understand that my prayer, hope and plan for Nigeria is that “May we not miss Buhari”. The wishes and idea of those that say we are going to miss Buhari seem to me like a malediction that needs to be prayed against.

There are two major reasons for my prayer and hope. One is objective and general the other is a subjective and peculiar reason. Objectively and generally speaking, one misses the past when the present is not as good as the past.

For us to miss the Buhari era after May 29th 2023, the days and years that come after the last eight years for the country must be really bad. Just think about it, how bad must things get for one to miss Buhari?

Will it be due to his own performance in office or will it be due to the performance of his ministers? Will it be for the events that happened in world during the Buhari era? Heavens and earth forbid such future.

Let us even for pure hypothesis’s sake assume that Buhari was a great and inspiring president and his era a peaceful and prosperous one, the prayer not to miss Buhari era will still be a valid one because it will mean those coming after him will be worse. For anyone that seeks progress and development, the hope and prayer is for tomorrow to be better than yesterday not vice versa.

On a subjective and peculiar side, there are many things that President Buhari did that one hopes that his successor does not do, there are many things that he did not do that one hopes his successor does.

Let’s face it and tell the whole truth, I personally and strongly hope that the new president is totally different from Buhari.

In my view, being different from President  Buhari is a prerequisite for being a better President in 2023 and onwards.

A good place for the incoming to start from for not being like the outgoing is communication. It would appear the outgoing president, somewhere along the line, developed an allergy for talking directly to the Nigerian press and people and for eight years he never found a cure to that allergy even in his many travels.

May we not have a new president that will find it difficult to speak directly to Nigerian press and people.

Recalling the number of months, the outgoing president spent in office without appointing ministers and other key positions to manage his government and cabinet is an embarrassing experience for some us.

It becomes excruciating when we note that most of the people that made his list were known suspects that worked with him during the merger and political campaign that made him president. The only surprises were some controversial inclusions and some insensitive and inhumane exclusion.

Please note that I say all these without dwelling on the perceived lop-sidedness of all appointments and nomination that was done under this administration.

May we not have a president that will make us miss the Buhari method and content of nominating and appointing.

There are too many social and economic indices that went from bad to worse under the outgoing regime to make anyone that wishes Nigeria well to hope for the incoming administration to make us miss the outgoing one.

Some people made money under this regime, others got fame, I wish them well but I am sure none of them will want the current rate of unemployment or the level of inflation to be worse than the one the outgoing administration is leaving us.

Lest we become guilty of what we accuse others of doing, it is important that we pause to ponder on the fact in all these, President  Buhari was not a sole trader. There were people around him, his court that was made of various people and personalities, some paid and charged to give counsel, some others, without any official role but still very important and influential.

There were also his party members and legislators that in view of their position as representatives of their own people could have raised the alarm and forced the presidency to act before the Naira went from weak to derelict. They could have steeped in and made their voices heard and to help stop some vexatious and unproductive policies. We saw them scramble for offices and photos but not once did we see members of Buhari’s court stand up to the president or step down from office on principle or ideology.

Moving forward may we not have a president, presidential court, parliament, political party and country that will be so weak to make us miss the Buhari.

Join me if you can @anthonykila to continue these conversations.

-Kila is Institute Director at CIAPS. www.ciaps.org.

Anthony Kila writes on the ninth year anniversary of the kidnap of Chibok secondary school girls in Borno State and asks if government has left the parents and guardians of the affected girls to their fate.

Dear Readers

This weekend marks a sad anniversary, it is the nineth year commemoration of the kidnaping of the Chibok girls. Let us remind ourselves that between the 14th and 15th day of April 2014 close to 300 young secondary girls were abducted from their school, a Government Girls Secondary in Chibok, Borno state, a part of the country then notorious for insecurity.

Reports that reached us then was that the school had been closed for weeks for security reasons and that the girls were in school for their final examination. Amid tears, we should see.

This sad anniversary is not just a reminder of the sad fact that the too many girls are still missing, it also reminds us of who we were and who we are as a people.

When the kidnapping occurred nine years ago, the first two worrisome elements for consideration, besides the fact of the kidnapping itself, were those of “how”.

Many people wondered how it is possible for so many girls to be taken away without anyone noticing and raising a useful alarm.

Many of us wondered how it was possible for there not to be enough eye witnesses that would have seen and that could describe where the kidnappers came from and where they went with the girls.

Another major “how” issue that came up was that of “how many”. It became quickly and sadly obvious to us then that the state and school could not give an exact number of how many girls were taken away. Parents were saying one number, school were saying another number and government were giving another.

That was nine years ago, do you think today we can confidently and precisely say how many students are in and out of any school compound? Have we put in place enough measure to ensure that none of our children can be kidnapped without trace?

Just in case we forget, it is worth remembering that one of the main reasons many voted for the then candidate now outgoing president Muhammadu Buhari was the belief and hope that he would lead the restoration of security in general and the return of the kidnap girls or to “#Bring back our Girls” as those who still care about the girls keep saying.

At the heat of the moment, the whole world cared about our missing girls, celebrities and world leaders carried placards and made statements. There were rallies across capitals of the world. Various government and leaders around the globe offered to help in terms of offering arms and other equipment, human capital and intelligence, the interest was intense and wide.

Nine years later, the world has moved on, they seem to have found other interests and only those who seem to care, apart from the family of the girls, are those that meet under the Falomo bridge in Lagos.

I have observed elsewhere and severally that the gathering under that bridge is more constant and certainly more reliable than many airlines in Nigeria. One of the many lessons to take away from this sad episode is how ruinous is the obsession with foreign intervention.

What is there to gain from this obsession with we calling others to intervene in our woes?

They (foreign leaders and people) sit to chair, get details of our situation offer some platitude and move on to the next show on the big stage called world politics.

We must tell ourselves the truth, everyone has his own troubles, even when they are truly interested in our woes, foreigners do not have the time, resources or even legal backing to fully step in as we may wish or need, hence we need to focus, with resolve, on our issues by ourselves.

While we are at telling ourselves the truth about ruinous obsession, who will tell the leaders and faces of the APC that this their chasing after everything the opposition is doing and saying makes no sense.

By opposition I refer to the Obidents because the main opposition, the PDP, bless them, they are snoozing and they should not be disturbed. General elections are over and so should be campaigns and banters, it does not make sense for a party in power and about to hand over to itself to continue to battle with those that have lost the election.

Sadly, but legitimately, oppositions and those that lost the election have reasons to challenge the results. It is another phase in the electoral battle but this is a battle to be fought in the court room not on the streets or twitter.

I have argued that and continue to advocate for court proceedings to be televised and adjudicated before 29th May, the date scheduled for the swearing in. The very simple and clear intentions of such appeal is to help douse tensions, channel all disputes towards the legal process, restore faith in the judicial institutions and make protests and rebellions redundant.

It is easy to understand why those who lost election can be in pain, angry and prone to picking fights but those that have been declared winners have a duty of care to keep the house standing. To help douse tension and help healing of all, the APC team needs to leave the ruinous obsession of chasing Obidients; it is time to leave legal matters to lawyers and the courts and let politicians focus on agenda setting process that will give those who voted for and against an idea of what to expect for the new government.

So far, what we get is mostly push back and counter accusation as if there is another election in the making.

What we have instead and in reality, are court battles. Campaigns and public pressure do not or at least should not affect court proceedings so obsessing with banters and post-election jibes or any form of demystification of a candidate declared as loser is at best just sterile for the party and even ruinous for the country.

We need voices and faces that can project peace and hope not rage and division. It is time for those currently speaking for the ruling party in general and the president-elect in particular to change their ways or be made to make way for others that can change.

Join me if you can @anthonykila to continue these conversations.

-Kila is Centre Director at CIAPS. www.ciaps.org.

Anthony Kila writes on the need for people to be careful on the highway as they commence journey of life in year 2023

Dear Readers

As we start our journey of life in this new year called 2023 and we hope to get a better year than the last one, I would like to invite us all today to, in addition to our many plans and intentions, also try some new and even simple considerations in a bid to get a better year and a better life in our homes, work and country.

A good and simple place to start from is our roads. It is a simple and good place to start from because that is one place that we all use and I am convinced that if well managed it will give us all a better life. It is amazing how many contemporary sociologists, economists, clergy and others who practice the art and trade of studying and managing our lives make little mention of the road, yet, after just a very little consideration, anyone capable of observing and formulating thoughts from observations will quickly see how the road is one of the most democratic and yes most inclusive part of human lives.

We are used to talking of markets but even that is now very segmented and the markets people have a lot to do with not just their needs but also their mindset and socio-economic status.

So, even though some affluent shoppers can still be found in very low-cost markets because they always check their pennies or because they still love to save, it is not really where one would expect to find them.

So even though some not exactly affluent shoppers might be found in very high-end markets because they are wasteful, disorganised, uniformed or want to be seen at the high-end markets, it is not where one would rationally expect to find them.

In both cases these shoppers are outliers. Not so for the road where it is rational to expect to meet and see anybody from the pauper to the wealthiest, from our villains to our most virtuous, from the dullest of us to the brightest of us. Advertisers know we are all on the road, hence you keep seeing more and more billboards and in different shades.

In considering the road, I am sure you will readily agree with me that while anyone can say “I have not been to or used this or that place for a month”, and get a smile, laughter or even approval or admiration, nobody can say “I have not been on or used the road for a month” and expect to get a smile, approval or admiration.

Most of those who do not use the road are either confined in prison or to a sick bed. Since most of the population of the country is on the road, it is easy to see why the road can tell you a lot about a land and its people. When we consider our roads in Nigeria, one of the first things anyone will note is that we have more untarred roads than tarred roads, that in itself is an index or development and a measure of how present or absent and visionary and accountable governance is.

There is no point spending time and words on the importance of having good roads to our lives but it is, I think, useful to find out why we don’t have them? There is no Nigerian ruler or citizen that does not consider tarred roads a sign of progress and a worthy project, so is that there is not enough time, money or idea to tar most roads in Nigeria or is that time and money have been allocated to most roads and some people have used these resources for something else?

The fact that we the people somehow accept this level of development or turn of things and work, pray or steal to buy SUVs says a lot about we the people of the land as well.

On our roads, there are too many people who seem to drive with no regard or even knowledge of the traffic rules and regulations.

The question here is how is this possible?

Yes, people buy licences and some drive without licences. These are, in my view, just symptoms and consequences of a bigger malaise linked to our little consideration for and understanding of the road.

Drivers’ licences are issued by government after training and exams with the aid of driving schools. Drivers’ licences are monitored by law enforcement agents. We do not say it enough but in realty an unqualified driver behind the wheels of any vehicle is a potential murderer and or suicide candidate.

Any government agent that has a good understanding and appreciation of the road should have the theoretical knowledge and the practical conscience that allowing a non-qualified person on the road is morally equivalent to being an accomplice in homicide.

Just like with the use of forks and knives, no one anywhere in the world was born with the understanding and appreciation of the road, our relationships and actions are guided by rules and regulations dispensed in codes that we have to learn. These codes are learnt in schools and reinforced by the community as morals and ethics.

Two similar but distinct notions that most tend to confuse. Our schools both general and driving schools need to rediscover their essential roles in the creation of informed and safety conscious road users. The rest of community from our families to our churches, mosques and clubs need to (re)discover their roles in contributing to the creations of beliefs, taboos and stigmas system for uncouth road users.

Left alone to their own devices, most teenagers anywhere in the world would be tempted to drive without learning and without a licence, but in societies with a good understanding and appreciation of the road, most teenagers will not drive without learning and without a valid driver’s licence.

There is neither magic nor mystery in having safe roads with reasonable drivers, the key, not trick, for having both is education, engagement, engineering and sanctions.

As with most things in life, if one looks well, there is a spiritual angle we can always count on, so though there were no cars or bikes in the stories of the holy books, we can still use religion to guide people, so I ask all that in 2023 and beyond to drive and ride as you would if Jesus or Mohammed was with you in the car or on the bike.

Join me if you can @anthonykila to continue these conversations.

-Kila is Centre Director at CIAPS Lagos. www.ciaps.org.

Anthony Kila proffers solution to the problems facing the nation’s aviation sector which has resulted in the grounding of two local airlines

Dear Readers

In the first week of April 2022, the League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents(LAAC), Nigeria’s aviation media umbrella body saddled with the responsibility of ensuring effective media coverage and practice in the aviation industry unveiled its annual conference slated for the last week of July 2022 and themed it around the topics and sunset airports and their consequential economic and safety. The major concerns of those aviation reporters were around the effects of dwindling space of operation for aviation operators, reduced and delayed flights for passengers, increase in cost for all. By the day of the LAAC conference (28th July 2022), some aviation staff had joined the general strike called by the Nigerian Labour Congress and two of the biggest and most recognised Nigerian airlines had stopped their flights.

First it was Aero Contractors and two days later as if affected by a contagious virus, it was the turn of Dana Air. The dreadful question is which airline is next? Aero Contractors was forced to fold the wings of its scheduled flights due to exorbitant and unsustainable expenditures they had to incur in order to operate their scheduled flights and lack of equipment needed for their processes. Dana Air was forced to quit the field operation over poor liquidity by the apex regulator, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

In both cases, the results are stranded angry and, in some cases violent passengers, that have to deal with disrupted plans and the challenges of looking for replacement flights at prices way higher than what they initially budgeted and paid, on the side we have frustrated airline staff faced with uncertainty about their professional lives.

As one can easily imagine, many meetings and conferences of intending passengers were cancelled. Aviation analysts, operators and particularly regulators like to say and even repeat that what matters to them more than any other thing in the industry is safety. As if to prove the point most aviation forums and agencies prefix or a suffix their names, deliberations and description with the term “safety”. In the name of safety, airlines are grounded and operations suspended by the regulator and one cannot in conscience and based on general and commonsensical thinking fault the intention and reasoning of the regulators when they justify their disruptive decisions along the lines of “better grounded than risky”.

It is easy to retort that the road to hell is paved with good intentions but that will be a banter of wits. The deep and hurting reality is that we have an aviation crisis and emergency in our hands in this country. It is a crisis because high cost of flights and shutting down of airlines in a country as big as ours in the times we live in looks very bad and it is leading to serious disruptions. It is an emergency because we cannot afford to let the situation play out itself and we cannot be patient and wait for long term solutions. We need to act swiftly and decisively to deal with this situation so that this very bad situation we have at hand does not turn into an unmanageable disaster. Decisive actions in this case will require a total rethink and resetting of the way we conceive and manage our aviation manners. There is a prevailing idea in the general public and amongst too many leaders of thought, opinion moulders and indeed policy makers that aviation is a sector that services the elites or the privileged, this is however an anachronistic misconception that needs to be deliberately and assertively corrected. Those who know and can need to find the clarity of mind and courage of voice to explain to the rest of the society that in the times we live in and with the size and structure of Nigeria, aviation has become and will remain a basic and essential infrastructure.

With such conception in mind, the role of regulators in the sector will be radically modified. At the moment, our aviation regulators seem to come alive and are felt by many only when they disrupt, we seem to know they are there only after they have grounded or suspended. The regulator of a basic and essential service should be and must be seen to be committed to the delivery of services not its suspension, regardless of how noble their intentions are.

NCAA should be known for what it is doing to help airlines fly and we should all be educated to know that they are doing so because of the general good not as a favour to a company, private or public it does not matter. For the sake of consumers and citizens, aviation regulators should be working like a clearing house on ensuring that stranded passengers of delayed and cancelled flights can fly with the next available flights just as debit and credit card holders issued by one bank can easily withdraw money from the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) of any available bank.

Whilst “safety” is a recurrent theme in aviation discussion, a closer look will readily reveal that finance is a sine qua non element of existence and survival in the aviation sector. To make matters worse, in aviation it is not just any money, it has to be foreign currency. The government through the presiding ministry and its regulating agencies in collaboration with the ministry of finance needs to champion the case of aviation to make forex available, affordable and accessible to aviation operators. Clearly, it is not enough to have aviation funds from government banks or aviation desks in commercial banks anymore, in line with rethinking and resting our aviation manners, it is time we think of activating an aviation bank that will raise and mange funds and offer niche financial products for the aviation industry.

With over twenty years in the industry, I can knowledgably confirm that luckily aviation is not a pauper’s business and finding depositors and shareholders will not be an insurmountable problem for capable promoters but the political will is needed. In the spirit of rethinking of and resting aviation, operators need to go beyond flying or selling and distributing tickets, it is time to represent their challenges as rewarding opportunities to capable innovators, inventors and investors. Maintenance of equipment, refining of aviation fuel, training and development of human capital, deployment of distribution systems and other problems that are adversely affecting the sector can and should be thrown open to the market as opportunities for players outside the aviation sector. To do all these and much more, requires the ability to conceive, shape and propose rewarding and sustainable partnership between the public and private sectors, it requires a collaboration of thinkers and doers but above it requires a leadership that can clearly and boldly rethink and reset aviation.

Join me if you can @anthonykila to continue these conversations.

-Prof Kila is Centre Director at CIAPS Lagos.

Anthony Kila appeals to delegates of political parties billed to decide presidential candidates to weigh the importance of their decision

Dear Delegates Our epistle is today aimed at and directed to those of you that have been called upon to vote for and by so doing technically deciding which of the political hopefuls that will bear the flags of their various of parties in the coming 2023 elections.

You have started absolving your duties in some parties and in some states already but this weekend you will reach the climax of your duties when you get together in Abuja with other delegates from across the country to decide the presidential flag bearers for the two major parties. Lest we become guilty of the sins we accuse others, let us quickly clarify two salient points.

One is that this epistle is coming late as I personally believe that important as the office of the president is, it is wrong to place all emphasis on that office. It is my view that important and powerful as the president of the federation is, that office is still a part of the whole and to make the presidency and other offices work efficiently and fairly for all, we need to strengthen and monitor all other offices (such as that of legislators and governors) and to strengthen all other offices, we need to pay closer attention to who gets there.

I therefore agree that an epistle to delegates on the eve of presidential elections is a late epistle but we console ourselves by saying “better late…” Another point that needs to be clarified is that whilst I concede that the two major parties (APC and PDP) are the most important and effectively most consequential political platforms in the country, I do not agree that things ought to be that way.

I therefore agree that an epistle seemingly aimed solely at the delegates of the two major political party is practical but in conscience and knowledge a limited and limiting take on issues. I have learnt not take anything for granted with politicians, so let us quickly remind ourselves and above all you dear delegates of the peculiar position you hold with regards to the future of the country like those (delegates) before you did in past elections.

Unlike and before the millions of your fellow citizens across the country that will be voting in 2023, you as delegates have the privilege and duty of not only voting in 2022 but also deciding who the rest of the of country can vote for.

The rest of the country will in 2023 be choosing between precooked dishes, you Mr and Madam delegate are the only ones that have access to the raw materials and the true choice of possibilities. With that in mind, I think it is safe to say whichever way the country goes after the elections is due largely to what you do at the conventions. There is no court that will decide it, but history and conscience will recall that those who had the opportunity and duty to decide who will contest have more responsibility than those who will vote those who eventually contest. 

Whilst at it, let’s us this occasion to remind ourselves that as delegates, your main duty is to represent others, when you vote or speak, you are doing so on behalf of others for whom you are delegated. Ideally, you go as delegates from and behalf of your local governments and other constituencies to represent the interests and sensibilities of your communities. With your choice of aspirant, you should be saying “this person is the one that can best represent my people on behalf of whom I am here today”. With such an important duty to absolve, it is rather fascinating that very little is known of you Mr and Madam delegate.

For no fault of yours but thanks to a bizarre system that needs to be questioned and corrected, most of those you represent barley know who you are let alone what you stand for or how you think. You know yourselves though and history knows you. Given that we do not live in an ideal world, we must contend with our reality. Even in this our grey, shady and yet mostly bizarre reality, individual delegates must be able to live up to a very basic expectation and absolve a simple task: go to the primaries and chose for their party a candidate that can win elections.

In assessing aspirants, dear Mr and Madam delegate please, for the benefit of our collective future and your personal conscience, remember to look out for an aspirant that can gainfully stand to up the other side and better convince millions of voters that he or she is the right one for the job. In a country of millions of people with a cacophony of interests and mindsets, one would think it is difficult to know who will be considered the right one for the job, in reality it is not. Majority is the real theme of voting.

Majority of voters want the country to be safe so that they can trade, learn, love and worship in peace. They want jobs and opportunity to create wealth for themselves and their families, to do these want infrastructures that will allow them learn acquire needed crafts and skills, travel to practice their place of craft, and get well when sick.

Voters would like to see a leader in power that can help them sanitize a system that has the knack of forcing citizens to beg and bribe for the basic things of life. To do these and more, the right person for the job must and be seen to understand the system; the country cannot afford experiments or someone that will learn on the job. Democracy is a popularity contest and those that will confirm that your choice of aspirant is the right candidate are more than you.

In making your choice, look for an aspirant that can not only do but also knows how to communicate that he or she can do. When you find such aspirant, before turning him or into a candidate, please pause to see what you can do to avoid unpleasant shocks. Check to make sure your chosen aspirant can withstand the physical and mental demand of campaign and later office, check to make sure your chosen candidate and the chances of the party will not be distracted by suspicions and allegations of scandals or an unfriendly invitation by law officers. 

All these you do for the country, for yourselves, I recommend you look for a candidate who will not become unreachable or unapproachable once elected. For yourselves, I recommend you choose a candidate who knows and believes in party system. Vote for someone you can question and counsel as members of the same party. In all, it is not how you got to the convention that will matter years to come starting from May 2023, it is what you did at the convention that you and rest of us will have to deal with. 

Prof . Kila is Centre Director at CIAPS Lagos. ()