The APC-led
Federal Government has demonstrated beyond doubt that it lacks the
perspectives, programme, policies and capacity to take Nigeria out of crushing
poverty to a life of comfort. The pronouncements and actions of Government have
conclusively confirmed that under the APC-led Federal Government, pit of poverty
into which the PDP threw Nigeria would be deepened rather than being
attenuated.
The
central programme of genuine change required in Nigeria today is a programme
directed at bringing about income
redistribution, by which looted resources would be seized from the Nigerian rotten
wealthy class and placed at improving the living standards of ordinary people.
A
programme of income redistribution in the context of Nigeria today would
involve:
1.
Revisiting and reversing privatisation of
public enterprises by which the historical accumulated investments of decades
were simply looted under the guise of sale. Several probe panel reports exist
showing that privatization was used to dispossess the society/people. A key
index with which to measure the commitment of the APC-led Federal Government to
its acclaimed change is reversal of all past privatizations in Nigeria. Rather
than considering privatization as a central issue that has undermined the
capacity of government to create jobs and provide much needed basic services,
the APC-led government keeps assuring their Western imperialist backers that
they are more committed to privatization than any government in Nigeria. In
fact, one of the purposes put forward to justify emergency power being sought
by the President from the National Assembly is, surprisingly and shockingly, to
be able to undertake sale of the remaining public enterprises by fiat. The
democratic process in considering government’s proposed policies and actions is
considered by the APC-led Federal Government to be a luxury!
2.
“Contractocracy”,
a system of governance by award of contracts is a big drain on public
resources. It has been empirically established that contract awards for public
projects causes not less than 25% of the value of such projects being looted in
a legitimized manner. “Contractocracy”
is the source of legitimized budget padding in the past and currently under the
government of “change”. Public projects should be executed by direct labour
using collaboration between governments, nationally and internationally through
a system known as Public-Public-Partnerships rather than contract awards and
Public-Private Partnerships.
3.
The remuneration and living standards of
those occupying elective offices (at both the executive and legislative arms, as
well as their Ministers, Commissioners and numerous aides) should be brought
within the average living standards of those they govern at any point in time. No
elected public officer should earn more than ten times whatever the minimum
wage is at any point in time. In this way, only those who want to serve the
public/society genuinely would be attracted to the electoral process and
resources would be available to take care of basic means of life for the
masses. There is a public perception that the remunerations, including
allowances of elected public officers and their aides take not less than 70% of
recurrent expenditures at State and Federal Government levels. In this regard,
the acquisition and maintenance of jets by the Presidency and some Governors
should be considered avoidable wastes.
4.
As provided in the Code of Conduct for
public officers, no public officer should earn remuneration from the public
vault from more than one source. For example, the Ministers and legislators who
are taking pension at the rate of incumbent Governors and still earning
salaries and allowances as Ministers or legislators must be made to return the
loot.
5.
Government should put in place a punitive
property tax against those who own more than one house and/or landed property.
A directory of landed property should be developed and their owners identified
to justify how they acquired the landed property. Those who cannot show the
factories they established through which they acquired their assets should be
prosecuted and such assets should be seized for public uses. In the meantime,
they should be made to pay 100% tax of the value of such assets.
6.
Past and current legitimized budget padding
should be investigated and all those found culpable in both the executive and
legislative arms of government should be brought to justice. Budget padding may
be established by simply costing the projects to determine the appropriate
costs as opposed to the budgeted and actual costs. The difference should be
recovered through a process of prosecution, regardless of party affiliation.
7.
A genuine fight against corruption should be
taken to the oil and gas industry. It is estimated that 99% of the N96trillion
realized from sale of crude oil since 1958 are monopolized by about 1% of the
population while the 99% of the population are left to struggle over just 1% of
the oil earnings.
8.
Nigeria is not broke. If genuine,
non-discriminatory fight against corruption is waged to recover looted wealth
by members of the ruling class, ordinary Nigerians do not deserve the economic
agony they are currently experiencing. But the APC-led Federal Government is
hopelessly incapable of fighting corruption. Hence, it appears what is going on
is recovery (from those who are out of power) for relooting. There is even
controversy on the value of cash and physical assets recovered. No wonder those
who used 16 years of their control of the Federal Government to rape and bring
Nigeria to her kneels using the PDP have moved en mass into the APC to continue
the rape of Nigeria.
9.
Public refineries in Nigeria should be made
to work and more refineries should be built so that Nigeria can produce petroleum
products for domestic consumption and for export. Those who have destroyed the
capacity of government owned refineries should be brought to justice rather
than reliance on importation and refineries built by individuals using the natural
crude oil that belongs to the people in the oil producing areas.
10.
Nigerians should reclaim their government.
The PMB/APC-led government is currently owned and controlled by the IMF/World
Bank in an unholy alliance with their local agents against the interests of
ordinary Nigerians. The common people of Nigerian should peacefully protest (as
provided under section 40 of the Constitution) to bring government policies to
serve their interests.
Femi Aborisade, Esq.
23 August 2016.
Related: The PUNCH NEWSPAPER POST HERE.
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