ESV Saliu Abdullahi Osuko, Giza

NOT everything is expedient. The confusion, the cacophony of voices we are hearing these days are frightening. Everyone is an expert and everyone has the solution to our problems; but even the experts have ended up confusing themselves. It is now clear that being an expert criticising and pontificating on solutions to good governance, from the outside, is very different from being on the hot seat of governance itself. This is what President Bola Tinubu and members of his cabinet are beginning to find out. For every measure they have taken to improve the economy since they came in, millions of people have been driven further into poverty.

Some are busy distributing money to multi dimensional poverty stricken people, with zero knowledge of wealth creation and you think it is the solution to our problem? We are holding seminars, conferences and lectures, using jaw breaking words to proffer solutions. And, I ask: can’t we just keep everything simple, with both problems and solutions? According to experts, we are consuming more than we are producing; that is why we are broke.

Why are we not producing? Because we have not put the right conditions in place to encourage local production. There is an elite conspiracy to ensure that we remain down perpetually. Instead of agreeing among themselves on how to improve our local situations, they have decided to embrace everything foreign, beginning with our National Assembly members who have decided to go for foreign imported vehicles in place of local manufacturers that are willing to supply them vehicles at reduced prices.

Some have decided to send their children to schools abroad, as against working on fixing the shortcomings in our educational system. They have decided to import fuel and other petroleum products and allow our refineries to remain idle. With such elite consumption, you will not find it difficult to know why our naira is battling for survival at over N1,100 per dollar. That is how we want it; the leaders will not allow themselves to be used as examples, they are there to share the spoils, not to make sacrifices. In the 1970s and 1980s, the Indian government shut its borders to foreign importation, except the ones that are absolutely necessary. Anything that can be produced locally was never allowed into the country; you would do that at great risk to yourself and business.

Foreign investors were also read the riot acts, to ensure that technology transfer was included in agreements reached with them. Today, India is among the technologically advanced nations on earth, even sending their scientists to Mars. What is our problem? Again, elite conspiracy

to keep us the way we are. Our leaders are more interested in their comforts and standing amongst global bodies; they prefer to be settled by WHO, UN, World Bank, IMF, etc, than for their country to grow. So, they come home to preach unworkable economic theories for us. At some point in our history, this nation was self- sufficient in food production, agriculture was the main stay of our economy. Where did we get it wrong? Wrong priorities and wanting the easy way out.

We are yet to find our feet; businesses are dying and the first thing that is bothering this government is how the people can pay more taxes. Taxes that those in government would fritter away through wasteful consumption patterns. The people are already suffering; in fact, they have been stretched to their limits. What they need is the sacrifices of the leaders, the leadership must tighten its belt to enable the people to breathe. I do not know how President Tinubu will do it, but his first 100 days in office is not giving the right impression that things are going to change for the better. With a bloated cabinet and wasteful government agencies, it is going to be difficult for the desired change to happen in Nigeria. As I have mentioned initially, let us keep things simple. Block the loopholes in the system; in the civil service and government agencies, political leaders and other extant players.

All must be seen to be tightening their belts and the people will happily follow suit. On insecurity, it is unfortunate that we have allowed ethnicity and religion to becloud our sense of judgement. The other day, Sheikh Gumi was quoted as saying that the security of the nation will not be safe in the hands of Christians; these are the tendencies that have kept us where we are today. Those that are promoting this kind of sentiments forget the fact that the major reason for the hunger in the land today is insecurity pervading all parts of the country.

The real farmers cannot afford to go to their farms because those of them that have dared, are being killed or kidnapped for ransom. The terrorists and kidnappers do not discriminate between religions; everyone suffers the consequences. So, what is the solution? Government must come very hard on those promoting religious disunity in the land. We should take the country back to the era of unity in diversity, where ‘though tribe and tongue may differ, in brotherhood we stand’. The potential for Nigeria’s greatness is huge, but negative forces do not want this to manifest. It is left for leadership

to identify these stumbling blocks to peace and unity in the land.

One thing must be made clear to us: you do not win the war on insurgency or terrorism through negotiations, it has never worked anywhere in the world; you either crush them or they will continue to be a festering sore. Our armed forces should be allowed to go hard on all insurgents, terrorists, religious extremists and others of their ilk in the land. In doing this, we must have at the back of our minds, the doctrine of equity and fairness.

When you begin to place your people in positions, above others, when every available top position in the land is occupied by people from a particular section of the country, you will be going against unity and federal character principles in the country. Most discontents in the land are as a result of bad decisions taken by by people in positions of authority. It has been happening in the past but reached its peak during the Muhammadu Buhari administration. It is like Tinubu is following in that pattern going by what we have seen so far. Without equity and justice, there can never be peace. A leader that wants to free his people must come with clean hands.