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Pensioners In Governance In Northern
Nigeria By
Bukhari Muhammed Bello
Jega
The Nigerian
state is fast drifting into an abysmal of confusion. This drift was
exacerbated by the kind of men and women at the corridor of power. Men and
women who lack the foresight and passion to develope the corporate
potentials and destiny of the Nigerian state, 50 years after independence.
Today, Nigeria looks like an abandoned project. No doubt, leadership
failure is at the core of Nigerian failure over the years. The leaders
that have ruled or are still ruling the Nigerian state lack the vision,
passion and determination to tackle the crisis of nation building facing a
country with vast potentials. Democracy offers the country the best
opportunity to fast-track the loss of yesterday, bewilderedness of today
and without any possible projection for a better future. Democracy holds
strong appeal among Nigerians, because, they believe it is the only system
of government that gives them opportunity to elect leaders of their choice
and hold them accountable for their stewardship, no doubt; Nigerians
jubilated over the country’s return to democracy; and, democracy comes
with a lot of rising expectations for a better future.
In a
retrospect, 12 years into the democratic misadventure, the yearnings and
aspirations of Nigerians were not only betrayed, but, the governance is
now associated with ineptitude, corruptions, and immorality. The biggest
failure of governance at the grassroots was the failures of elected chief
executives in various states to rise to the expectations of providing
governance at the state and local government level. From 1999 to date,
most of their Excellency and Executive Governors across the state are
maintaining the pensioners’ attitude to governance and revenue generation.
Just like pensioners, these Chief Executives are often agitated whenever,
there is any reduction in their pensions from the federation account,
because their existence seriously depends on it, in order to maintain
their luxurious lifestyle. Unfortunately, every month their Excellencies
or their Commissioners of Finance are on their way to Abuja, to share and
collect their pensions from the federation account, without which
governance will be grounded in the state due to lack of alternative
sources of revenue in the state.. To me, this is lack of vision and
determination to rise above the personal comforts and partisanship to
harness and utilize available resources around the state.
The most unfortunate part of this pensioners mentality, is
the inability of northern governors to realize the potentials around them
and harness them for ultimate development of their states. I often imagine
that, no state in the north by extension Nigeria
that cannot exist on her own, with the resources and potentials in their
surroundings. But, ironically, our pensioner-governors, lack the
foresight, knowledge, determination, courage and blueprints, to look
inward and harness their potentials to improve the revenues of those
states. These tired and visionless pensioners, lazy around government
houses, surrounded by sycophants and bootlickers, who only massage their
ego without concrete advice or blueprints on how to improve governance and
generate revenue. To these pensioners-governors their self interest is the
most propelling desire about governance in their states. Their
Excellencies are very effective and efficient in achieving personal
political and economic gains, than they are in improving the lives and
properties of the people that they swore to protect and governed with God
Almighty as their witness.
There is no doubt; the landscape of the Northern region is
enough to kick start agricultural revolution in the country. The northern
region with its vast fertile land and population to back it up; has the
tendencies to metamorphose into an agriculture hub of West Africa.
Agriculture no doubt, is a catalyst to development and improvement of the
lives of any society. Each state across the 19 northern states is blessed
with one form of resources and another. From Kogi to Abuja to Borno to
Sokoto, lies fertile land, seeking productive hands and minds to put such
treasures into use. If we take a curios look into the potentials of each
state across the northern region, there lie the huge potentials that could
raise the revenue earned by government in the region. For example Niger
and Benue states have the potentials or capacity to feed the whole of
Nigerian; due to the fertility of the land and productive nature of the
farmers in these states. In Benue State, which is often regarded as the
“Food Basket” of Nigeria, lie abundant agricultural potentials, a home to
oranges, tomatoes, onions, yam, bean seed (largest producers in the
country), rice etc, but, due to lack of storage and government neglect,
these resources often get rot and wasted; thus, the inability of the
agricultural sector to improve the lives of the hardworking and passionate
farmers in the state.
Niger is an interesting scenario; a home to two large dams, with vast landmass suitable for rice production. If the government of the state can concentrate on rice production alone, the government can cash the advantage of reducing the 200 billion naira wastage on importation of rice from Thailand, Brazil, Philippine and others. With a serious government in place, Niger state can be an industrial hub of rice production not only for Nigeria but in the whole of West Africa. But, the pensioner-governors etc in the state seem to make more noise and raise controversy than actually concentrating on the programmes and challenges at hand. If only the blood thirsty Plateau pensioner, Jonan Jang will concentrate on empowering the hardworking women of Plateau state, to sell or market their potatoes, cabbage, carrots, green beans, lotus, etc across the federation, life will significantly improve, especially with the growing fast foods providers across the country. Same can be said in the North-East and North-West geo-political zones of the northern region.
It was
reported that the Indian government earned an annual turnover of $8
billion from exports of Neem oil (Dongo Yaro seeds oil) from 1 million
trees that was planted in a special farm. When I saw the report, I was
wondering, what it would have been if our pensioner-governors will harness
the potential that lies wasted across the northern part of the country. I
believe the economic importance of NEEM seed oil is significant in the
production process of biscuits, beverages, cosmetic, soaps, medicine etc.
This cannot be underestimated in triggering economic development for the
northern part of the country. First, we can engage the vast Almajiris in
picking and assembling these seeds in bags and pay them appropriately,
thus creating employment and empowering the millions of Almajiris across
the northern part of the country. Secondly, it will be a form of
environmental cleanness and sustainability of healthy living. Thirdly, no
doubt; Neem tree is also medicinal for the cure of Malaria, rheumatism and
high fever; thus saving millions of naira spent on importing malaria
drugs, if we can creatively model this medicinal value through proper
packaging and dosage. Interestingly, same can be said of Gum Arabic,
cassava (that is needed around the world for the cure of food and mouth
disease in cows), groundnuts, sorghums, maize, onions, soya beans, cotton,
yam, and sweet potatoes, etc. These vast potentials if properly managed
and harnessed can serve as the springboard for revenue generation and
development; after all, agriculture is the number one form of viable
revenue across the world.
There is no
doubt; agriculture has the potential of lifting over 30 million
northerners out of poverty into the middle class; thus serving as a major
means of poverty reduction strategy across the region. Moreover, the
agricultural sector is not the only revenue avenue for the government;
solid mineral is another important sector. The abundant solid mineral
distributed in the region should have been a catalyst for the development
of the region. Uranium is vastly distributed in Gombe state, Diamond and
Gold in Zamfara state and other states, Tin in Plateau State, Granites,
Columbite, precious stones, etc. Unfortunately, foreigners are coming to
bribe these pensioners to harness and utilize these resources for their
own business interests. If these pensioners can concentrate on harnessing
these potentials, it can increase the source of revenue for the government
and create wealth for the belligerents’ masses of the region.
Equally, trade and commerce can also serve as major source
of revenue generation in the region. Trading amongst these states and
utilizing the international markets in the neighbouring countries of Chad,
Niger, Cameroon, Benin, Mali, and Senegal etc can trigger the much
anticipated development and increase sources of revenue through internal
taxation in this region of lost opportunity. From North-Central to North-
East and North West
lie abundant potentials. It is left for the states to harness their
potentials and resources for the purpose of development. Alas, these
pensioners have failed or are still failing to realize the vast economic
potentials that are buried in the region. It is unfortunate to see these
pensioners lazing around government houses, when there are tremendous
challenges ahead of them. It is sad, to see a whole region depending on
gratuity from the central government from the sales of crude oil. It is
rather ironic to find these pensioners panicking whenever, the Niger-Delta
militants and leaders threaten the region with hardship and poverty if
they siege the oil industry; instead of leaders to seek alternative
sources and confidently say, we are not a parasite, but, our agile farmers
are the major forces that feed this country; so if you refuse us oil; then
we will not provide you food to eat; after all the north is not a
parasite, but, a force to be reckoned with, the opposite is the case. That
is the tragedy of having lazy, visionless, intellectually bankrupt, and
tired opportunists to be saddled with leadership positions.
It is
interesting to say that, these pensioners, must realize the fact, that,
governance is about service to the people; not an opportunity to loot and
upgrade their social status in the society. These pensioners-Governors
must learn to use intellectual and research organizations to assist them
in drafting economic blueprints that will guide their reform agenda. There
is need to have direct communication and friendship between governance and
research organization; where government will raise the fund to assist the
research organization in carrying out various research on how to expand
the revenue earning power the various states; then research organizations
must come up with practical solutions and viable economic blue prints that
will kick start the economy. There is no doubt; the crisis of development
in the region is the absence of romance between the intellectual community
and the government machinery. In the absence of such relationship,
babalowos, Mallams, and Bokaye caged in offering unscientific advise to
government and unfortunately it seem governance often have more confidence
on these diabolical groups than the intellectual community; whose advise
might not necessary translate to the development of the region.
The northern
governors must stop this pensioner mentality and face the real issues of
development. The agony of Boko Haram, violence, killing, poverty and
hopelessness in the region is the by-product of the lack of creative
thinking on the side of governance in the region. From all indications,
agriculture is the major catalysts for northern development; so therefore,
government must pay adequate attention to the development of the
agricultural sector, due to the potency of the sector to move over 30
million people out of the poverty level to the middle class level; thus
giving them the opportunity to improve their lives and support the
education of their children. No doubt; the northern region can have all
year farming season, if the government can build dams and provide
irrigation facilities to farmers; thus reducing the rural urban migration
of our brothers into cities as gatemen, wheelbarrow pushers, recharge card
sellers and other menial jobs in the cities of Abuja, Lagos, Port Court,
Kano, etc. Government must build avenue for agricultural produce to be
profitable to the farmers, by creating ready made markets and
infrastructural facilities such as good road network, adequate
transportation system, storage facilities and loan facilities to farmers.
Improve agriculture practice, qualitative education and provision of basic facilities through the encouragement of all year farming season can reduce the rate of poverty and hopelessness in the region. Also, the development of agriculture will trigger the development of human resources in the region that is lying wasted. Sharp increase of the income of the farmers will enable them, to send their children to schools to have qualitative education and ensure good health thus ensuring prosperity for a region that holds a lot of promise. Agriculture can also ensure the revival of comatose industries in the region as well as the country at large. These pensioners (northern governors) must pull resources to revive the lost legacies of Late Ahmadu Bello Sardauna of Sokoto. Reviving the lost legacies is an impetus to the actualization of transformational agenda in the region. I take solace in the saying of Ali Ibn Abu Talib (as), where he was quoted to have said “He who in spite of having water and soil at his disposal, is still poor, is dissociated by Allah”. No doubt; until these pensioners give serious consideration to agriculture for sustainable development; the gratuity from the oil revenue, will not provide the necessary development for the northern region; our future as a region lies in agricultural development, period.
From Center for Political Research, Education and Development (CEPORED)
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