Photo of the late Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua who passed on May 5, 2010 after a long illness. Acting President Goodluck Jonathan, at his side in photo, has been sworn in as the new head of state in Africa's most populist nation.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
Victor Any, a public affairs analyst, argues that in the absence of the enabling infrastructure, increased local manufacturing and stable currency, the much-touted Vision 20-2020 will remain a pipe dream…
When President Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua(now of blessed memory) took the oath of office on May 29, 2007, he enumerated his Seven-Point Agenda which included, regular supply of power and energy, food security and agriculture, wealth creation and employment, mass transportation, land reform, security, qualitative and functional education. His maiden speech gladdened the hearts of millions of Nigerians and he was in turn applauded by the masses.
In spite of the inability to achieve any of his seven point agenda, he came up with a new vision he tagged, “Making Nigeria a World Economy by Year 2020”. This vision is laudable considering the fact that the Nigerian economy has nosedived over the years. But does this administration know what it takes to transform an economy of a nation to that of world standard? To become a world economy is to produce goods and engage in trade activities that meet international standards and compete favourably with those of advanced economies like Japan, United States of America, Germany, France Britain etc. It is to be among the most developed economies of the world.
Thus,for an economy to be classified as one of the most advanced in the world, its goods must be produced to meet international standards. Its trades and services must be rendered to meet international best practices. And of course, the currency of such an economy that aspires to become a world economy must be valuable, strengthened, competitive and acceptable in international trade exchange.
Nevertheless, to develop an economy to a world standard is not by mere making of statements and pronouncements. It goes beyond that. It is a well thought out and executed plan of actions over a period of time. So, infrastructure such as good roads, regular supply of power and water, good transportation system, security of lives and property, tax relief and holiday, low telephone tariffs, access to affordable accommodation etc, should be provided to guarantee the advance movement of an economy.
At the moment, none of the above mentioned infrastructure is on ground. The Power Holding Company of Nigeria ( PHCN ) can only generate 2,500 mega watts (MW) of electricity for 150 million Nigerians. This is too low for a country that wishes to grow her economy. Lack of adequate and regular supply of electricity is the bane of development in this country at the moment. Lack of electricity has caused some industries to relocate to some of our neighbouring countries.
Currently,it costs a fortune to transport goods from one part of the country to another due to the bad state of the roads. And it is only roads that are the major means of transportation in the country presently. The rail transport system has collapsed long ago as huge sums of money budgeted for the sector year in year out are diverted to private bank accounts. Water transportation is as good as dead as the three tier of governments are neither encouraging private participation nor investing in it. There is no regular supply of water across the nation. Those who want to set up manufacturing companies have to sink their own borehole before they can get water to use. This retards the growth of an economy as many investors may not want to bear the burden of sinking boreholes by themselves. The security situation in the country today is something to worry about. Lives and property are being wasted in unprovoked manner in some parts of the country without the Federal Government taking a stern measure to curb it. The tax system is another barrier to economic development in this country. Individuals and corporate organizations are subjected to multiple taxes, which in most cases, discourages investments.
For an economy to be classified as a world economy, its ports system must be flexible and operational.All ports, both sea and air, are not functioning very well due to unwarranted charges and fees. Today, Nigerians import goods through the Republic of Benin ports because of the unfriendly measures with which the Nigerian ports operate. The energy sector is nothing to write home about. In Nigeria at the moment, individuals source their own electricity through generators by powering them with diesel and petrol. To get diesel and petrol with which to power the generators is now a nightmare and without electricity, industries cannot operate. How then can the economy grow to become a world class when industries are closing down and some are relocating to neigbouring countries due to lack of electricity?
For an economy to grow, sometimes, foreign investors need to come and invest in it. But, foreign investors cannot invest in an economy where the leaders are corrupt and dishonest. Corruption has eaten deep into the social fabric of the nation, especially that of our leaders that it has become a common stigma. Every year, trillions of naira are being budgeted for various projects that are not executed. Such huge sums of money find their way into private bank accounts in foreign banks. Such money could have been invested locally to boost the economy. In a situation where international trade agreements and memoranda of understanding are not adhered to, foreign investors cannot come and invest.
Though, it is good to have a vision and think big, our present realities show that ours is rather too tall to be achieved by year 2020. At present, Nigeria is not even among the best economies within the West African sub-region. Even now Nigeria is planning to export her crude oil to Senegal for refining! How can Nigeria that calls herself the Giant of Africa export her crude oil to Senegal before she refines it? What happened to the four refineries in the country? Dilapidated? If they are decrepit, can they not be fixed? If they cannot be fixed, can new refineries not be built? How much does it cost to build a new refinery that Nigeria cannot afford? Ivory Coast is a major exporter of cocoa at the moment and this has improved her economy tremendously above that of Nigeria. Some West African countries like Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cameroun, Mali etc, are snatching Nigerian industrialists to their countries because they have functional infrastructure on ground. Where is the position of Nigeria in the West African economy that she is aspiring to become a world economy by year 2020? The greatness of Nigeria is only in the mouths of Nigerians. With large population and mere talks, Nigeria is the Giant of Africa but in infrastructural development, there is absolutely nothing to show for it.
Now that President Goodluck Jonathan has assumed the mantle of leadership will he still pursue this vision of his boss? Will he jettison it altogether or will he combine it with his new vision of electoral reform, regular supply of electricity and combating crime and corruption head on? When there are too many goals to pursue at a time, they become really difficult to achieve. The new president has just one year to stay in office. Within this one year, he should focus his attention on how to improve the economy of Nigeria to meet the standards of her West African neighbours like Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Republic of Benin, Cameroun etc, before thinking of making Nigeria a world economy by year 2020.
To achieve this vision, infrastructure such as constant supply of electricity, energy and water, good roads, good transportation system, security of lives and property should be provided.
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