7th November, 2024
By Oluwagbenga Oyebanji
A great nation is built based on the values it promotes. It is the foundation of generational transformation provided the value system is encoded into everyday living of the society. The Nigerian state in the midst of great potentials has failed to envisage value as the needed ingredient to build a just and equitable society that factors in the well being of the family, community and society.
The colonial presence in the continent was imperialistic until the new wave of independence in the 1950s, which swept through the continent like a wildfire after First World War 1918 with Egypt leading the audacity of sovereignty in the continent. The cultural integration of Europe and Africa was like blood and water finding expression without a proper medium. The value system which we now boldly uphold presently in Africa was largely inspired by the colonial imperial occupants.
Democratic governance in Africa is largely driven by despotic and nepotism. The just and better society we all craved is wrapped in the motivation of knowing the Nigerian state already has what it takes to succeed without interference from any outside sympathizers that does not comprehend the reality of the expectation attached to the African state. The 54 countries in the continent have similar challenges and it is interwoven in the expression of the right thoughts about development and economic growth which will give power to a high standard of living for all citizens in the Africa society.
The economic value system of Nigeria has been affected mostly due to lack of proper planning. It is unfortunate that energy and power that are central to development and industrialization do not have the required attention. The Nigerian power grid collapsed 46 times between 2017 and 2023. The plethora of energy sources should naturally translate to meeting the power and energy demand of the society but leadership which is the greatest factor in building an equitable society is missing. The data and statistics are frightening on the current state of the economy in the continent and with Nigeria leading the chart as the most populous nation in the continent.
If the continent is to create the conducive environment for the youthful population to succeed and fulfill their purpose the value system has to change from the top to bottom. The waiting for my time mindset has to give way for servant leadership. The continent needs the right response to all the multifaceted problems confronting it. Nigeria as the leader of the continent has to lead genuinely for all the other countries to see the example of greatness in the continent. Nigeria is grappling with swimming in the 21st century demand of governance. Generators constitute 48.6% of both electricity consumption by both SMEs and households making up for $16billion expended annually on fuel consumption according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Almost 60% of businesses are off the national grid because they can’t uphold the reliability of the national grid for their business operations.
The cost governance has been the impediment to scaling economic development in the continent. Nigeria has 70% of 2024’s budget on recurrent expenditure, and 90% of government’s revenue goes to debt servicing. Building the right value for development and economic growth is a hard nut to crack. There must be economic reforms that confront the problems with right solutions. These reforms have to factor in devolution of powers and resource control to allow people at the grassroots to participate in governance. Nigeria’s constitution needs reforms and the leadership at all levels must give credence to restructuring as the only way to fashion out the right path to thread if the 21st century is to be the century that Nigeria will be a player in the global economy.
Our value system for leadership is more about self and not service. The contending issue to governance and the school of thoughts of the leadership is thinking in this line to replace the constitution or vanguard an amendment that removes all the ambiguities in the 1999 constitution. The 68 items in the Exclusive lists of the Nigeria’s constitution promotes mediocrity from the sub nationals which are the states and the local governments.. The distribution model of Nigeria’s politics and governance of handing out pocket money every month to states and local governments through Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), is archaic and retrogressive to economic development. The post military era brought a rigged value system that enabled politicians, bureaucrats and political office holders’ entitlement mindset to loot the treasury dry. It is pertinent to know that corruption is a consequence of a rigged system.
The failure of governance in Nigeria is largely based on a rigged system that has deteriorated the concept of value to societal norms. The value system would never be refined in leadership if restructuring the polity is not given the required attention. The foundation of a thriving democracy is to empower the sub nationals in a way that they are autonomous in a sovereign state. The autonomy should not be an audacity for anarchy but building an interdependent system where understanding is the foundation of governance amongst all the stakeholders in the Nigerian state. Corruption has always been pointed as the bane of development in Nigeria, the oil and gas sector in Nigeria is a candid example of a rigged value system according to NNPCL, that a total of over 60 million liters of PMS were consumed daily as 2023. Fast forward to 2024 with the deregulation of the upstream, midstream, and downstream oil sector the daily consumption has been reduced beyond imagination. According to reports by Punch newspapers from data obtained from Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, fuel daily consumption has decreased from 60 million liters per day in May 2023 to 4.5 million liters per day as of August 2024 which is a 92% decline. The subsidy claims of this preposterous figure showed a rigged system that lacks value.
The population and the youthful army is a cause for concern if proper planning is not done to uplift the numerous youths out of quagmire of hopelessness, the future looks bleak. Nigeria’s population is almost 230 million which is the world’s sixth most populous nation with a population growth faster than any other nation. Nigeria will outgrow America in the next 30 years, if population control is not put in place to make economic growth to outpace population growth, social upheaval is inevitable. Building a strong value system entails developmental structure and moral enlightenment to uphold cultural value in the day to day living of an average Nigerian .The challenges of the Nigerian state is solvable but having changed mindset will bring the desired value that can catapult a third world nation to first world nation. Nations have threaded this path, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Asian tigers. The fourth democratic republic has been 25 years of uninterrupted civil rule and the results to show is full of ambiguity. The light after the tunnel is encouraging, the can do spirit of Nigerians have always been the torch of hope in the current economic confusion. The country we all desired would never be if we don’t place attention on building a strong value system.
-Oluwagbenga Oyebanji is a Public Analyst, [email protected], 08112412163
