Nigeria at 40: Rebuild domestic infrastructure,punish financial thuggery
Nigeria at 40: Rebuild domestic infrastructure,
punish financial thuggery
Special to USAfrica The Newspaper
www.USAfricaonline.com
I
returned to Houston a few days ago from reporting the visit of U.S.
president Bill Clinton to the most populous country in the African
continent, Nigeria. I had covered Clinton during his historic 1998
multi-nation working tour of Africa. But this Clinton visit in August
2000, and other associated U.S.-Nigeria bilateral interests compel a
necessary reflection over developmental questions, including
Nigeria's 40th anniversary of its political independence and critical
matters requiring additional insight as Nigeria staggers into the
21st century. This is, after all, a time when Nigeria requires
leadership not dealership; sacrifice not sanctimony; seriousness not
serio-comical charlatanry, accountability rather than the serial
financial thuggery and decades of vulgar cannibalization of the
country's once promising destiny put asunder, principally, by
Nigerians and a contingent of dishonest foreigners and briefcase
contractors.
First, and remarkably, the Nigerian government hosted Clinton only in and around Abuja, the new gazillion-dollars capital of Nigeria which glistens with many marble homes and stained-glass palaces built with stolen public funds. Shred of all embellishment, arguably and in some sense, Clinton came to Nigeria without really seeing the real tapestry of Nigeria due to "security considerations." But Nigeria is boy's scout territory compared to the more violent zones of the Middle East, Pakistan and Colombia he has toured. Imagine keeping Nelson Mandela in the paradaisical, almost Edenic splendor of Florida's Boca Raton as the zone of an "official" visit to the United States! It was a short-lived diplomatic razzmatazz, punctuated by hurried business meetings, a needless avoidance of the cities where real life lacks the glitz of Abuja, where the daily grind and enterprise in such commercial hubs as Aba and harsh existential realities of a majority of Nigerians are in full, non-choreographed interplay. It was less than a partial picture except, may be, for such knowing delegates on the mission such as U.S. congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee who had seen urban and rural Nigeria, decades ago.
Second, on October 1, Nigeria, also celebrates the 40th anniversary of its political independence from Britain. For the average Nigerian worker, business persons, students and seasoned observers, the resounding question remains: what are we celebrating? What can Nigeria's leaders (past and present), seriously show the international community, especially its citizens, as reflecting objective indicators for raising their standard of living? Why are the country's leaders not doing better to soothe the ethnic, Islamic Sharia and other religious conflicts which have heightened economic and political instability?
Third, with this anniversary, Nigerians, at home and abroad, continue to wonder if they have not just been through, yet, another decade of unchecked kleptocracy (rather than democracy), of promises unfulfilled and squandered dreams.
Why?
In the area of public accountability, it will offer another mocking, if unintended, reminder of the billions of dollars, pounds sterling and deutch marks stolen and stashed away by Nigerians in secure, gold-platted and numerically dazzling bank accounts in Switzerland, London, Antilles, Lichtenstein, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Cayman Islands, New York, and other fast cities.
Again, for a perplexed and penurious citizenry, it marks yet another parade by Nigeria's ruling elites in a laughable effort at self-congratulations. Indeed, more a parody and serio-comical reminder of what the richly blessed country could have been. This year's event in 21st century Nigeria animates the pomposity with which Nigeria's rulers seek to mask its misplaced priorities.
From my research of Nigeria's political economy, despite some progress, at 40, the quickest historical, numerical comparison for Nigeria is that of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. If only Nigeria had just 40 Thieves in 40 years of its so-called political "independence." But no; such graces and reprieve do not exist for my country of natural origin. It all seems like Forty Thieves a day in Nigeria!
But the pre-occupation of Nigeria's president has been probes which go largely after the dead (for example, the late monstrous dictator Gen. Sani Abacha) than the living, and pleading for "debt forgiveness" from the international community. It may be understandable why the probes are not as active with the living and powerful. Vital fact: some of those whose questionable and stupendous private wealth (including retired soldiers) also took the front seats to sponsor the campaign and victorious election of Olusegun Obasanjo (a former military dictator and head of state, 1976-1979) as president on May 29, 1998.
I toured the major cities in the Northern, Western, Eastern and oil-rich riverine states, shortly after Clinton left Nigeria. Again, the refrain, remained: when shall we have only 500 minutes of uninterrupted power supply? When will the water pumps cough out enough to fill a glass? Lest I forget, Nigeria ranks among the top 10 producers of oil (including the 'sweet' Bonny Light), but Nigerians, sometimes, have to park their cars at petrol stations overnight, on lines stretching almost one half of a mile or more, to get gas/fuel/diesel. Worse, the costs per visit are nearly half of an average worker's monthly salary. Meanwhile, Nigeria's leader Obasanjo continues to blame the same late, murderous Abacha, who died two and half years ago, for the current fuel shortages inside Nigeria!
To complicate their expectations, Gen. Obasanjo has broken all records in foreign travels by any Nigerian or African president. In an operational sense, he has become the frequent flyer president! Also, he has been distracted too much by his own overaching interest to "play the role of a regional power" than serving, actively and attentively, to the domestic needs of his citizens. But he, with some key members of his team, miss the point of international economic development. Domestic infrastructure enhances inter-state commerce and attracts foreign investments. My solutional point and mantra, therefore is: It's the domestic infrastructure, stupid!
Why? Build a better local infrastructure, Nigerians abroad and other international investors will do more business there. Like most leaders before him, Obasanjo, wrongly believe that the first thing to do is to keep saying "Nigeria invites foreign investors" rather than actively, strategically and purposefully build the basic infrastructure, especially information technology and power generation, that will make domestic and international businesses to flourish. For example, one of my Houston-based multimedia companies, USAfricaonline.com, is working with a U.S. information technology corporation to establish Nigeria's first truly high-speed, nationwide ISP (internet service provider) and digital content aggregator for international businesses and domestic/private consumers. But one major problem: the phone infrastructure in Nigeria is wickedly unreliable. Again, It's the domestic infrastructure, stupid!
On the positive side:
-progress has been made in the technological development of the oil
and gas sector. More Nigerian and U.S. firms (many of the
Houston-based) are also involved;
-there's greater liberalization and privatization of aspects of the economy;
-there's increased interest and presence of some international investors.
- islands of neo-feudal entitlements are being knocked down, although substituted, to an extent by other geo-ethnic interests. Hence, the continue hue and cry for fair economic access for all, especially but the long-suffering oil producing communities of Nigeria whose environments have been despoliated by the activities of Shell, Exxon-Mobil and others.
Finally, people are asking: where are the so-called dividends of democracy they were promised by the democratizing government of Obasanjo? Again folks, It's the domestic infrastructure, stupid!
|
A wish for my
country by Segun
Adeyina.
|
The Civilianizing of African soldiers into Presidents Should Africa debates begin and end at The New York Times and The Washington Post?  USAfrica
INSIGHT
Will the
rash of Ethnic
Violence
disrupt
Nigeria's effort at Democracy?
FELA ANIKULAPO KUTI: Afrobeat superstar, eccentric genius and activist The Civilianizing of African soldiers into Presidents |
|
