The contests for various positions in the 2019 general elections were extremely viciousin in many places. Whether for the executive or legislative positions, the contestants acted as if their lives depended on it. Or better said, as elections thrive on sucking blood; in obedience of which, the contests were soaked in blood in many states. For instance, in Rivers State, the military turned a purely civic duty to a war drill, while in Kaduna State, the contest parlayed between sundry killings and vote buying.
According to accounts, the 2019 elections in many states were a sham. Some contestants even paid the supreme price all in the effort to serve? They were however instances where elections went on smoothly without untoward incident. Notably, in some places were the card-reader were not fully pressed to action during the presidential and federal legislative assembly elections, the violence spiked as INEC conducted the governorship and state assembly elections. So, without any doubt, technology has become the saviour of lives and giver of electoral purity.
Going forward, President Muhammadu Buhari has a chance to change the electoral fortunes of Nigeria, and make it one of his legacies. If he appreciates history, the time to act is now, and not when the next elections are close and desperation has set in. By then, those positioning themselves to benefit from the next elections would lie to him that handing over to his preferred candidate, instead of conducting a free and fair election should be the prime legacy.
So, with haste, electoral reforms must become the foremost plan, if the president wants to be remembered positively. His success in that respect will substantially reduce corruption in public service, because those who will emerge through a reformed process will be more service inclined than those elected through a dubious process. Again, if the process is cleaner, more decent people will participate, and if confidence is imbued in the electoral system, violence will decline. The scenario of less than 20% electorates participating in many states is not good enough.
The president and his team must also work hard to change the infrastructure deficit plaguing the country. Luckily the government is already revamping the railways. The work on the Lagos-Calabar and Port-Harcourt-Maiduguri lines should come on stream immediately. While the projects will provide massive employment opportunities for our teeming unemployed, it will also save our roads from trucks and tankers that are destroying them. With goods from the wharf moving on rails, accidents on our roads will reduce. Also the Apapa nightmare will seize.
The government must also change plans with regards to electricity production, distribution and retailing across the country. While production programmes appear commendable with the diverse investment plans in multiple sources, the present system of having a centralized national electricity grid should be changed to smaller grids. Perhaps a programme that could attract private investors to build such smaller grids should be explored. On their part, those who bought distribution companies have shown lack of capacity, so either they reinvest or the government seizes the licenses for reselling to competent corporations.
No doubt, the distribution-end have been the weakest in the delivery chain, and unless the government changes the present dynamics,it will fail like its predecessors. Many Nigerians believe the government has barked enough on the slow pace of investment in the sector, and so it is time to bite. Those who were beneficiaries of the shadowy sales by the last regime must either live up to expectation or give up their equity holding for more endowed investors.
To show the limited capacity of the distribution companies, the hanging-transformers installed since about 2014,in FESTAC area of Lagos State, have been idling away. I was shocked when an official of the EKDC living in my area, made arrangement to connect one transformer amongst five others in the same vicinity. On enquiry, he explained that any of the transformers certified okay could be connected. Yet, thesetransformers have been there since.
In essence, what has deprived EKDC customers the opportunity to enjoy an improved electricity supply, should the hanging-transformers be connected to electricity,is nothing more than lethargy on the part of the distributor.The other nightmare experienced by electricity users in the country is the refusal by the distribution companies to install metres for its customers. Again, when I accosted an official on why installing metres for customers is buried in unnecessary acrimony, he explained to me that the slowness in issuing metres is a business decision.
He explained that in places where metres have been installed, the revenue generation are abysmal, and so the official policy is to delay meter installation as long as is possible.But in fairness to the distribution companies, they have complained that the approved rating system is unsustainable. Even without comparing the statistics in other countries, one can say that electricity from the companies are unrealistically cheaper than the privately generated electricity. Of course, while not calling for the heads of consumers, there is need for balance in order to encourage the needed investment in the sector.
Another area needing change, is the level of investment in education. While revamping the national infrastructure will suck the teeming unemployed youths roaming our cities, riding motorcycles, and mugging motorists and passer-by as a horrible means of eking out a living; the Buhari government should lay the foundation to develop a knowledge-based economy. It is the knowledge-based economy that could transform our country from a third-world laggard to a second-tier government within a generation. The labour intensive jobs is merely a stop gap, to save the country from a war by the unemployed against the seemingly employed.
Even the security challenge will get a lift from creation of employment. While buying arms and ammunition is inevitable to fight the scourge of insecurity, the ultimate security lies in the provision of employment opportunities. As the challenges in the northeast and lately in the northwest show, the theatres of war within the country will continue to mutate unless opportunities are created for the jobless youths in the country. Those in authority must not be foolish to think the other regions are immune to such organized banditry that is plaguing the northern region.
Of course, the federal government’s agricultural programme is a step in the right direction. The building blocks has been laid, especially in the provision and distribution of fertilizer. The government should immediately rebuild the river-basin authorities across the country. Also, the social investment programs of the government is a worthy change-agenda. So the tradermoni, school feeding and similar programs should reach all the states in the federation post-haste. The time for change has come; so without hesitation, the APC led government must urgently move to the promised next level.
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