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Tag: Nigeria at 60

Nigeria at 60: A Dance by the Precipice- Politics, Governance, Policy Making [Part II]

In the first part of this article, published on October 1st, Nigeria’s 60th independence day, an assessment of the nation’s progress so far in governance, and impact of military intervention was discussed.

One other critical area of assessment is policy making.

Many times government had come up with policies that put the masses in more difficult situations, deepening their burden and frustration. A number of times citizens had kicked against policies that are perceived to be anti-people. This is bound to happen because there is a wide gap of mistrust between the governed and the government.

In normal climes, public office holders are servants of the people, whereas, the reverse is the case in a country like Nigeria. Invariably, government decisions ought to always have the people in mind. In other words, policies shouldn’t be made without a honest effort to know what the people want, what they yearn for, also importantly is how much adverse impact such policies would have on their living standard in comparison to long term gains.

This is where inclusion comes in the day to day running of the affairs of the state, also are transparency and accountability.

The procurement law stipulates that before a project is designed, a need assessment should be carried out. it is however unethical to wake up on a good day and single-handedly decide that what people need is a bridge. How did you know that’s exactly what the masses need? A need assessment should firstly, be carried out to ascertain the real needs of the people. Unfortunately, what our leaders do is to “feel” on behalf of the people, what their needs are. All they do is to have a feeling that this is good for the people and they jump at it and fritter away billions of Naira on a project that gets abandoned, unused by the community.

The increase in Value Added Tax (VAT), and the recent hike in electricity tariff makes one wonder to what end these policies are, if not to further burden and impoverish the masses rather than lifting the out of poverty. At the centre of government policies and citizens’ response are two critical elements. One is inclusion. Majority of Nigerians don’t trust government, and this is correctly so because of many years of empty promises and pledges. It is essentially profitable for government to adopt inclusion in the way it runs the affairs of the country by involving the masses in its plans. Two is transparency, been open with information.

However, to further make sense of the journey of Nigeria so far, albeit a dance by the precipice of disintegration and every stress that has threatened the unity of the most populous black nation in the world, I’ll present a perspective of a senior colleague, a veteran journalist who retired as a senior official of the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), Eddy Aina.

The Failed Labour Strike Over Electricity Tariff

“Looking at the shenanigans that took place between labour and the federal government, it would be right to say nothing has really changed because the strategy has always been that we will go on strike, they’ll infiltrate labour, you’ll hold meetings and meetings and postpone those meetings and hold the last one at night, and come out with some decisions.

“And if you look at the decisions, there are about four, five of them, they want to look at the rationale behind the increase in tariff. Why that tariff, you are trying to justify it. Well for me, that tariff can not be justified because at the initial stage it (electricity distributing companies) was not given to the right people. Somebody even confessed that, to use his words he said “we shared it among ourselves”. The privatization was not done in the proper way in the sense that it was not given to people who have the financial capability, administrative know how, and even the technical know how, and that is the reason why we are where we are now.

“They didn’t talk about metering, you want to meter 6million out of 200million people, that is neither here nor there. And they spoke about gas, that is providing gas bus, that is futuristic. You don’t have those buses now, and if you recall, under GEJ (former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan), the Federal Government gave money to Labour, what has become of those buses now? So for me it is just pushing the thing ahead. The fact remains that they didn’t give it to the right caliber of people.

“Talking about the deregulation of the downstream sector, the fact remains that the Federal Government hasn’t done what it ought to have done. Provide refineries to work in Nigeria, modular refineries, whatever you want to provide, but you have refused to do it. And the reason the Federal Government is insisting, for me, is because of the breathing hood institutions: IMF, World Bank and even to an appreciable extent, African Development Bank (AfDB) because we are heavily indebted to them and they dictate to us what we should do.

“I want to believe that it is a sellout between the labour and the government. Sellout in the sense that when you look at all those decisions, they plan to give 240,000 workers… how many people is the Federal Government making provisions for our of over 200,000 million Nigerians? Look at housing, recall that at the Federal Government level, there was a housing policy, whereby you contribute money on monthly basis, they deducted it from source. And at the end of the day, when your money gets to a particular extent, you ask for loan to build your house, how many people were given? In fact, I know so many people in the Federal Civil Service that were not given. To recoup your money, even after retirement…for me it took me over two years to recoup my money. So this for me is out of the point.

“Now look a at privatization that we are talking about, the only privatization that has been properly done in this country is telecommunications. How could you have privatized a particular business and you are now giving money to them to run it. For instance, according to the Vice President, ₦1.7 trillion has been given to these Discos just within a short period. So for me it’s a sellout.

Another area is the MOU for the sales of Discos. The Federal Government now suddenly wants Labour and other people to examine the MOU. Whereas, if it had been properly done at the initial stage, all you needed to do was to say you are not tagging along with what was agreed, so either bring in another set of people to run the Discos. It is baffling that they are afraid to bring in another set of people because the people they sold the assets to are big wigs, former heads of state, wives of former heads of state, that is incredible.

“For instance, when we signed a loan agreement with China, China ensured that there are clauses that will enable them take over part of the country. So what did we do in that direction?

“Now you are even talking of oil. They want to justify the issues around oil, that is privatizing the oil sector. Fine they want to privatise, but they are not doing the proper thing. Number one, look at the amount of money that was spent on turnaround maintenance, trillions of dollars. Now they want to go back to rejigging the refineries, I think something is wrong somewhere.

“Before former President Olusegun Obasanjo left office, he privatized it, but Yar Adua came and canceled the process. Now government wants to go back to it, I think they are not serious. For me, it’s a sell out because none of those things listed as cushion can work. Five million people to be given solar energy, how do they select those 5 million people out of 200 million people. I think it’s just a stop gap, let’s give them two weeks, we’ll run around it. I know they (Labour) cannot go back to strike again, no way they can do it.”

Politics, governance, the issue of political instability, interventions from the military.

“I remember when Nigeria gained independence in 1960, students were taken to the frontage of the Ake Palace (Abeokuta, Ogun State capital) then and were given a plate of rice. Frankly, Nigeria was a British protectorate in 1901, after independence in 1960, the country went republic in 1963.

“Between that time and now a lot of water had passed under the ground, some savoury, some unsavoury. But mostly unsavoury things have happened and that is why we are where we are now. Between that time and now, if you look at it critically, we can spend a whole day discussing it, looking at events before independence, then 1960 and from 1963 to 1966 the period of military intervention. What actually caused those military intervention, are those factors that were there then still prevalent now? To answer the question is to affirm that those factors are still there.

“If you look at so many authors, B. J. Dudley feels that the type of election we had in 1979 is still what we had in 2019 and 2020, even the election in Edo reflected it. We are not changing in that direction.

“In 1964, the fracas in the then Western Region was brought about because there was massive rigging of election and so many other factors and the military came in. Between 1963 and even 1979, because of ethnicity, multi religiosity, our multi dimensional society, and because of our leaders, we were not skillful enough, not patriotic enough, we didn’t have that aura to manage our diversity that is why we are where we are today. There is ethnic problems all over the place.

“Look at southern Kaduna, between the Hausas and non-Hausas, look at Plateau state between the Berom, the Hausas and Fulanis. Look at Delta, the Ijaws, the Urhobos and the Isekiris. Even when you look at the South West, it’s the same thing. All these factors to the extent that we cannot even count ourselves. How do you even plan when we cannot count ourselves? Recall that the military intervention came about because of the Tiv riots, because of the census that were contested in 1962 and because of fraudulent elections. All these things are still there because we have not had a leader to manage all these diversities. In fact, rather than manage all of these diversities, our leaders continue to use it to divide us into cleavages. Ethnic, religious, even fundamental cleavages. All of these things came on board and that is why we are where we are today.

“In 1999 till date, we have had 21 years, which is good enough. Some people would say at least we have had 20 years without military intervention. But look at it, before, the military interventions prevented Nigeria from moving, no economic growth, no good welfare for the people, people don’t have what they ought to have, no water, no electricity, and even between 1999 till date, some people will even argue that those things are still there now. Are they not there? In fact they are worse because we have leaders who are nepotistic, everything is ethnic based. Even when you are distributing largess, infrastructural facilities like roads, rail, electricity and water, still based on ethnicity. So those things are still there to the extent that our fault lines are clearly demarcated now and Nigeria is at the edge of the precipice and if care is not taken we might tip into it because we don’t have a leader that can manage our diversity and turn it round to give economic growth, development to the people, jobs for the youths who are about 60% of the population, and then women.

“For me, 1960 till date, good enough, bad enough. We have had worse, we have had everything.

“Nigeria’s problem is foundational in the sense that the British brought together people who had no business to be together. Unfortunately, because of the grab and take philosophy of colonialism through which the British penetrated our society, some authors will argue, they came with bible in one hand and gun in the other hand. But when they came they studied the situation critically, and they found out that they had to favour one group to the others. What do I mean? If you look at what we have on ground now, the argument of the British is that the North is 3/4 of Nigeria while the rest is 1/4. In terms of population they believe that they have half of the population of Nigeria.

If you also look at the election that preceded 1960, that is 1959, in the House of Representatives at the parliament, there were 312 representatives the North won 134 seats, the East 89, and the West 73. So that was what made Obafemi Awolowo an opposition leader and handed the reins of government to Ladoke Akintola, who then went to align with the North.

“Awolowo and the group said no, Akintola couldn’t do that without taking Action Group along. The situation snowballed into an attempt to remove Akintola as the Premier of Western Region when they went to parliament and there was problem. The rest is history, because it actually led to why the military came into power. But even at the point when we wanted independence, some people didn’t want it because they wanted to continue to enjoy that benefit, the vantage they have, and that’s the North. The North on many occasion, in fact twice they wanted to leave but the colonialist said don’t go.

If you read Just Before Dawn by Kole Omotoso, the British encouraged the Northerners to go and bring their people, their boys to join the army and that is the edge they have in the army today. So, those advantages are there, they didn’t want independence. Haven’t won independence, the North won it on a brighter side in terms of population, land size, which is three quarters. Now, that is the problem we have at the moment, they do not want to hand over that edge.

“As per a round table discussion, we can talk, the pressure is on now. After all, President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) promised us that they would restructure. They set up a committee headed by the Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, it has come out with nothing because they have not really restructured anything.

“Likewise, there is this other panel headed by the Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, that wants to go through the constitution but it cannot work. This is because it would be cosmetic. If you want to restructure, you have to involve the right set and number of people. We have about 400 ethnic groups in this country, call the heads together whichever way they want to gather us together and let us discuss.

“Also, let their be referendum, if there is plebiscite clause in there we can at any point in time call out Nigerians to decide if they want this or not, then they vote just like you have in Ethiopia and Mauritania.

Government Policy so far

“There’s a quote by I.F Stone, every politician is a liar, don’t ever believe what they tell you. It is imperative to conduct baseline studies when policies and projects are being developed. Is it water they need, or food, is it electricity and all that. You conduct that baseline study to arrive at what the masses really need, that is talking to the stakeholders.

“Let’s look at the development plans that we’ve had over the years, that of Adedeji ìn 2010, water for all, housing for all and all that. We are in 2020, all of that had gone down the drain. Now we are talking of 2050. The point is, it’s not the policy, the ones they had in the past, how did they handle them? Did they consult the experts and key stakeholders? Did they provide money? Did they have timelines for stage by stage accomplishment of the plans?”

By Tobiloba Kolawole

October 18, 2020
Video Highlight: Nigeria at 60 Celebration in Abuja

60th Independence Anniversary Celebration at Eagle Square Abuja on 1st Oct 2020

Video by @emmanuelanrihi001

Photos:

October 2, 2020
Nigeria at 60: A Dance by the Precipice- Politics, Governance, Policy Making [Part 1]

As Nigeria clocks 60 years of independence, amidst the struggle to come out from the shock of COVID-19 on its economy, and the recent impasse between labour and the Federal Government over the hike in petrol and electricity tariff, an assessment of the nation’s progress in governance, politics and policy making starting from alleged Interference from international financial organizations such as the IMF, World Bank and AfDB is a good way to begin.

The first duty of any government is to ensure the security, both economically and socially, of its people. Any other consideration should be secondary. Primary duty, ensure that your citizens are comfortable, give them every opportunity to succeed, to have a good life, live a sustainable life, help their living standard. That’s what every government should be bothered about. So when it comes to external influences it should be based on what your people would have to go through to achieve those demands or whatsoever. So it is worrisome that for whatever reasons government deals with international financial organizations, they would have to put Nigerians in a very difficult situation. Nigeria is currently adjudged, if not the nation with poorest people in the world. So with this, why would our leaders want to overburden its citizens with its many policies? Anti-people policies to state it rightly.

There have been several commentaries in the wake of the pandemic that serious nations would rather give palliatives to its people and this issue came up at the time anyway. So there were talks about how much would be given to whom and at what point would they determine who was going to get what? But of course we never heard anything about it again save for N20,000 that was said to have been given to some 10,695,360 individuals in 35 states across the country, the poorest and most vulnerable Nigerians they said; an exercise that was alleged to have been largely fraught with embezzlement. Does this government sincerely have the interest of Nigerians at heart? Sometimes that answer is mostly no. And it is not only under the Buhari-led government. If we look back, it’s always been an endemic, where our government, the people in leadership only concern themselves about what they can get from governance and not what they can give to people, or a good legacy of comfort they can leave for the people. By all means, it is morally wrong for you to put your own people in a difficult situation and even worsen their pains just to gain favours from international financial organizations like the IMF, World Bank and AfDB.

A lot of people have insinuated that the leadership of the NLC has been infiltrated, have been bought and that that’s why they are not really pressing to fight for more, for this injustice done by the Federal Government. Questions have been raised, asking should the NLC have gone ahead with the planned strike last Monday despite attempts by the FG to douse the tension.

Over time we’ve always had situations that caused us to believe that the NLC were infiltrated by government officials. However, if the NLC had gone on that strike action, it would have caused Nigeria, more so Nigerians billions of dollars, a loss that would further compound the effect of the coronavirus pandemic. It is believed that if the strike had held, many people, businesses, income would suffer. It would have caused untold economic hardship. Taking a positive look at it, at least a win. And what is that win? That is a backtrack on electricity tariff hike, where within two weeks as agreed by both parties, certain issues that are critical to the negotiations would have been dealt with. It is not just the right time for those hikes. For example, it is outrageous that electricity distribution companies (DISCOS) will not distribute meters to its customers but enforce estimated billing on them. To make the sore hurt even more, electricity tariff was increased. It behooves on the government and Discos to be alive to their responsibility firstly before any other expectations from the masses. They should live by example. So these are the conditions, government and their allies in the Discos should do the needful by not only providing meters but making electricity supply stable, and then we can look at tariff increase and how it would help the power sector and indeed the economy.

It is an obvious secret that the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan cheaply gave out the nation’s power holding electricity distribution assets to their cronies. Just as it had been prevalent over the years even up until October 1, 2020 when we celebrate Nigeria at 60, a trend is constant, and that is always vested interest, not the interest of the people, only theirs and that of their cronies, to the detriment of the larger population. It might not be wrong to assume that officials involved in the sales of the Discos have shares in these companies hence the hypocrisy that surrounds its operational policy. It is always about their interest. If anything, it is high time that a drastic action was taken to hold government to the jugular, look them in the face and demand accountability, to say “we put you there and you must do what we want, what we make us comfortable and not the other way round”. Government should not overburden the people; it should rather get on to think on its toes and be creative.

How can the nation have non-working refineries for years, yet our leaders explore oil, export to Europe to refine and then import the refined product for Nigerians to buy? It is a big shame. How can you have hydro electric dams, yet we do not have power. It is unimaginable the lows we continue to sink to 60 years after independence.

The conversation around true federalism and restructuring is still ongoing. When you sum it up, one of the major problems of Nigeria is its foundational culture, attitude. When you take a careful look, one might not be far from the truth to think that the construct of colonialism had a great impact on our psyche including the way we behave as a people and to one another. We might not be certain what our attitude towards social growth and shared interests was before colonization. However, when you look at the idea or ideals of colonialism itself, it was about a philosophy to subdue and take for oneself. The British colonial construct, we would think left the shores of Nigeria in its entirety after relinquishing administration between 1960 and 1962. But we might be wrong to assume so, as it is probable that the British’s philosophy of ‘subdue and take’ embedded in colonialism stayed with us.

If the ideals of colonialism was to subdue and take for oneself, that is about what we see play out at every level of our society. In an attempt not to paint this as solely a leadership problem and then drop the bag at their doorstep because leaders are just a small fraction of people who emerge from the larger society, they mirror the society’s ills and good alike. More succinctly, the idea to subdue and appropriate for oneself seems to be the default act of most Nigerians. It is mostly about what I can take for myself only. The act of selflessness doesn’t seem to preoccupy the minds of an average Nigerian. This very much feels like the basis of Nigeria’s problems. We just want to amass for ourselves; we really don’t care about the other person. So when you ask an average Nigerian on the street about taking leadership positions, you will be shocked the expectation would be to get to office and take care of him or herself at the expense of the larger society.

In essence, amongst other things, a restructuring of the mind, our value system first and foremost is crucial. When a people do not have a solid foundation as to what their values should be they would misbehave and act out of line. For example, the very first step a serious organization should take is to define their values, objectives, mission and goals. This is what guides the operational methods of the organization. But what is the value system of Nigeria and Nigerians, it is obvious, everyone to himself, herself, an attitude of taking for oneself alone. So a restructuring of the mind is crucial.

Recall in 2014, former President Goodluck Jonathan assembled a group of people from across the country for a National Conference- Confab, which he politicized and failed to implement. So while it is ok to give kudos to the Bayelsa-born ex-president for conceding defeat to Muhammadu Buhari in the 2015 general election, even though he had no choice but to leave power anyway, he would have left his footprint in the sands of time had he ensured that 2014 confab was in the best interest of Nigerians, not his reelection bid, and if he took a bold step to ensure that the outcome of the conference was debated and implemented. He lost a very big opportunity there.

The problems of Nigeria had started just about when it began its journey as an independent nation. The ethnic stresses, strife, mistrust, unhealthy competitiveness that currently hold us bound have been there since inception. For example, in 1963, the Mid West region was created with the aim of solving the purported imbalance thought to be a part of the root course of instability in the West at the time. Despite this, the ethnic stresses never abated, they are even much worse in the present time. Even within a political party, ethnic rivalry persists, approaching issues from the prism of ethnicity. So ultimately, we should achieve a restructuring of the mind, our value system, and every other salient issue that are important to us as peoples. Even in some religious teachings, there is a saying that: “can two work together except they agree”? So how can we live together peacefully, achieve development, except we sit together to agree? We need to have a restructuring of the mind, a restructuring of our value system, where we are going to as a people, our goals, mission, and importantly what we want to become together.

By Tobiloba Kolawole

October 2, 2020
For We Are Nigerian

By Dapo Akande

I read a few weeks ago, during the run up to the General Election, that the newly re-elected British Prime Minister was getting some flack from the opposition for displaying racist tendencies. They referred to a comment he made when he was still a journalist. In an Independent on Sunday publication of October 1999 he had regrettably quipped, “All the young people I know — i.e. those under 30 — are just as avaricious as we flinty Thatcherite yuppies of the 1980s… In fact, they have an almost Nigerian interest in money and gadgets of all kinds.” A remarkably distasteful comment by any standard and how patently unfair it is to paint a whole nationality with the same brush. How I just wish we hadn’t given him the ammunition to shoot us with though.

One thing I know for sure is that we need to change the narrative about us as a people and to do that, we need to ask ourselves, who is the Nigerian? What do we stand for, believe in or hold dear? What is our general outlook on life and what do we believe life should be about? It behoves us to truly understand who we are and to promote it with much gusto, plenty of swag and much clarity to the world. We need to deliberately project our strengths and virtues and believe or not, there are many. We need to tell the world of our hospitable and ebullient nature, our generosity of spirit, our love for life, the confidence which by nature, we have in our abilities; our can do spirit even in the face of overwhelming odds, our diligence, dexterity and fathomless ability to innovate. No matter what, we are a good people and we need to present ourselves as such to the world instead of complaining while we allow the foreign media to control the world’s perception about us.

In August 2018 Bloomberg ranked Nigerians working in the United States as the eighth most hard working and most skilled immigrant group. It boggles the mind to think what that could and should have translated to here, if only the environment was more enabling. And that’s what makes our modest achievements here so amazing. In many ways, we still manage to move forward in spite of and not because of.

Believe it or not , Oyinbo isn’t all good either but he has been able to put systems in place which curb man’s natural tendency towards excesses and the focus on self. Of course, like anything, it doesn’t always work but it has certainly gone a long way to making their society a more functional one. I remember when I was still at boarding school in the Uk. The story went round that a Nigerian boy had just been expelled from one of the top schools. The boy’s father quickly offered to donate a million pounds to upgrade the school library. Bear in mind this was about thirty four years ago and then you’re likely to appreciate just how large a sum that was back then. Pronto! The school swiftly readmitted the boy and explained it away as an unfortunate misunderstanding. Who told you oyinbo doesn’t like money too?

Until each and every Nigerian sees the success or otherwise of our society as a collective responsibility, we will remain where we are. No, you cannot leave it all to government unless you see yourself as having less stake than government officials. You don’t. There is a part for us all to play and it begins with taking ownership of the Nigerian project backed by sane, rational, intentionally disciplined and civil behaviour which always contributes immensely to corporate progress and well being in a way that can hardly be measured. We need to guide our adolescents and youth to cultivate the best of habits because no one else will do it for us. Throwing money at the problem by giving them everything they desire without instilling priceless values simply won’t cut it.

The Nigerian story is not one entirely of doom and gloom. It depends on how we decide to tell it. Of course we can tell it in a way that quenches any remaining glimmer and kills the spirit or we can decide to tell it in way that restores hope. And we all know hope is an essential commodity in and for life. Hope for a better tomorrow is what pushes us on even when all around us looks bleak.

Hope of making it to an infinitely better and eternal after life makes the present situation which in comparison is so ephemeral, more bearable. But when hope is lost, so essentially is life. Everything loses meaning and value. To a patient who has come to the painful reality of his mortality as he gradually succumbs to a terminal illness, to surround him at that point with all known luxuries of life shall hold no meaning to him. The only hope remaining for him is one that transcends this life. In the same way, all who see our dear country as one in the throes of a terminal sickness, leaving it no hope, no future, will never lift a finger to salvage it. What’s the point? We should never allow the Nigerian spirit to atrophy. We must not allow the Nigerian spirit to die. To inspire the younger generation aright, we need a whole new set of national heroes. Those who have the love of God, love of their fellow man and the genuine love of country.

What makes us Nigerians? Our ability to stand and yet innovate; our boldness not just in conquering the most adverse of circumstances but our cheek in even believing we can. Faced with daily and often compounding challenges in one of the most unforgiving environments this side of life, we still find time to laugh, to dance and to love. I do not believe that we will be broken, I do not believe will give in for we are Nigerian. But we must tell our own story and stop leaving it to be told by those who do not understand our nuances, or feel our pain or truly appreciate what motivates us. We must not allow our story to be told by those who love to toy with the little hope we continue to hold on to. We must not let our story be told by those to whom we’re just that, a headline story. Truth is, they have no stake but we do.

Every parent owes the nation a duty to bring his or her child up well, by inculcating them with the right values. We Yoruba will call such a child, “Omoluabi”. Once you abdicate this responsibility, you lose the moral right to complain about the state of the nation because when your child grows up, his behaviour will only compound the problem. It behoves you to do your bit. But first, you must lead in the way you would want to be led. Happy Independence Day!

Changing the nation…one mind at a time.

Oladapo Akande is a Surrey University (UK) English graduate with a Masters in Professional Ethics. He’s an alumnus of the National Institute for Transformation and a two time author; The Last Flight and Shifting Anchors. He writes from Lagos.

October 1, 2020
We’ve Introduced Measures to Support Economy, Weakest Members of Society & More – Buhari’s Nigeria @60 Address
INDEPENDENCE DAY ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, MUHAMMADU BUHARI, PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA ON THE OCCASION OF NIGERIA’S SIXTIETH INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY, THURSDAY 1ST OCTOBER 2020

Fellow Nigerians

I speak to you today as your President and fellow citizen on this epoch occasion of our country’s 60th independence Anniversary. As President, I wish to renew my appreciation to Nigerians for entrusting me with your hopes and aspirations for a better and greater Nigeria.

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari in a national broadcast session, delivering an address to mark the nation’s 60th independence day, October 1, 2020. PHOTO: FEMI ADESINA
1. Today, it is my unique privilege to re-commit myself to the service of this great country of great people with profound diversities and opportunities. We are bound by destiny to be the largest and greatest black nation on earth.
2. At this stage in our nationhood it is important that we reflect how we got here to enable us work TOGETHER to get to where we aspire to be as a strong indivisible nation, united in hope and equal in opportunity.
3. On October 1st 1960 when Prime Minister Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa received the constitutional instruments symbolizing Nigeria’s independence, he expressed his wish that having acquired our rightful status as an independent sovereign nation, history would record that the building of our nation proceeded at the wisest pace.
4. This optimism was anchored on the peaceful planning, full and open consultation and harmonious cooperation with the different groups which culminated in Nigeria emerging as a country without bitterness and bloodshed.
5. Our founding fathers understood the imperative of structuring a National identity using the power of the state and worked towards unification of Nigerians in a politically stable and viable entity.
6. That philosophy guided the foundation that was laid for our young nation of 45 million people with an urban population of approximately 7million occupying an area of 910,768 square kilometers. These demographics led to development challenges for which major efforts were made to overcome.
7. Today, we grapple with multiple challenges with a population exceeding 200million occupying the same land mass but 52% residing in urban areas.
8. Sixty years of nationhood provides an opportunity to ask ourselves questions on the extent to which we have sustained the aspirations of our founding fathers. Where did we do the right things? Are we on course? If not where did we stray and how can we remedy and retrace our steps?
9. Upon attaining independence, Nigeria’s growth trajectory was anchored on policies and programmes that positively impacted on all sectors of the economy. However, this journey was cut short by the 30-months of civil war.
10. We came out of the civil war with a focus on reconstruction, rehabilitation and reconciliation that enabled the country to put in place world class development structures and a strengthened public service that well served the government. This positive trajectory continued with a return to democratic government which was truncated by another round of military rule.
11. For a cumulative 29 of our 60 years existence as a nation, we have been under military rule.
12. My summary of our journey so far as a nation is necessary to appropriately chart where we need to go and how to get there TOGETHER.
13. Today, I am aware that our economy along with every single economy in the world is in crisis. We still face security challenges in parts of the country, while our society suffers from a high loss of moral rectitude which is driven by unbridled craving for political control.
14. An underlying cause of most of the problems we have faced as a nation is our consistent harping on artificially contrived fault-lines that we have harboured and allowed unnecessarily to fester.
15. In addition, institutions such as civil service, police, the judiciary, the military all suffered from a general decline.
16. We need to begin a sincere process of national healing and this anniversary presents a genuine opportunity to eliminate old and outworn perceptions that are always put to test in the lie they always are.
17. The stereotype of thinking of ourselves as coming from one part of the country before seeing ourselves as Nigerians is a key starting point to project us on the road to our deserved nation’s evolution and integration.
18. To start this healing process, we are already blessed with the most important asset any nation requires for such – OUR PEOPLE – and this has manifested globally in the exploits of Nigerians in many fields.
19. It has been demonstrated time and time again that Nigerians in the diaspora frequently excel in science, technology, medicine, sports, arts and many other fields.
20. Similarly, the creativity, ingenuity and resourcefulness of the Nigerian at home have resulted in globally recognized endeavours.
21. I am convinced that if we pursue our aspirations TOGETHER we would be able to achieve whatever we desire. That informed our adopting the theme TOGETHER to mark this epochal event.
22. Together we can change our condition for the better and more importantly, together we can do much more for ourselves and for our country.
23. I chose the path of self-reflection because this is what I do on a daily basis and I must confess that at most times, I always felt the need for a collective reflection as I know that the foundation for a solid future which this administration is laying can only be sustainable if there is a collective commitment by Nigerians.
24. Nigeria is not a country for Mr. President, any ruling or opposition party but a country for all of us and we must play our part, irrespective of challenges we face, to make this country what we desire.
25. To achieve this, we must focus our minds, TOGETHER as a people, on ways of resolving the identified critical challenges that underlie our present state. These include:
26. Evolving and sustaining a democratic culture that leaves power in the hands of the people;
27. Supporting the enthronement of the rule of law, demanding accountability of elected representatives and contributing to good governance;
28. Increasing our commitment to peaceful co-existence in a peaceful, secure and united Nigeria;
29. Harnessing and Optimizing our tremendous human and natural resources to attain our goal of being in the top twenty economies of the world and in the process;
30. Lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years;
31. Strengthening institutions to make them stronger in protecting National Interests; and
32. Imbibing tolerance in diversity.
33. I am a firm believer in transparent, free, fair and credible elections as has been demonstrated during my period as a democratically elected President.
34. The recent build-up and eventual outcome of the Edo State elections should encourage Nigerians that it is my commitment to bequeath to this country processes and procedures that would guarantee that the people’s votes count.
35. The problems with our electoral process are mainly human induced as desperate desire for power leads to desperate attempts to gain power and office.
36. Democracy, the world over and as I am pursuing in Nigeria, recognizes the power of the people. However, if some constituencies choose to bargain off their power, they should be prepared for denial of their rights.
37. This call is made more urgent if we realise that even after a transparent, free, fair and credible election, desperation leads to compromising the judiciary to upturn legitimate decisions of the people.
38. It is necessary to, therefore support the enthronement of the rule of law by avoiding actions which compromise the judiciary.
39. Fellow Nigerians, our history has shown that we are a people that have the capacity to live peacefully with one another.
40. As a government, we remain committed to our constitutional oath of securing the lives and properties of the citizenry. I, however, call on the citizenry to also support government by providing the necessary community level intelligence in addressing these challenges.
41. In moving forward together, it is important to strengthen our economy to provide sustainable means of livelihood for as many Nigerians as possible so as to eradicate absolute poverty from our midst.
42. I want to re-emphasize my dedication and commitment, a dedication and commitment that propelled my public service career and informed my quest to continually seek for an opportunity to improve the lives of Nigerians, set the country on the path of prosperity and lead the country to a better future.
43. This administration has been focused on rebuilding and laying the foundations for a sustainable Nigeria. Of course, we have met and are still meeting the challenges inherent in any rebuilding initiative – more so that of a nation like Nigeria that has undergone avoidable levels of deprivation – but can be surmounted if we all work together.
44. I wish to re-iterate that our people and our spirit of excellence remains our most important asset.
45. In this wise, the need to return to our age-old ethical and high moral values would be necessary and this informed my launching of the National Ethics and Integrity Policy on Monday 28th September, 2020.
46. The policy would not implement itself and the first contact of the visibility of its implementation is the Public Service whose on-going reforms would be expected to be sustainable and give a radical re-direction in providing services to all Nigerians.
47. Fellow Nigerians, in addition to public health challenges of working to contain the spread of the Coronavirus, we have suffered a significant drop in our foreign exchange earnings and internal revenues due to 40 per cent drop in oil prices and steep drop in economic activities, leading to a 60 per cent drop in government revenue.
48. Our government is grappling with the dual challenge of saving lives and livelihoods in face of drastically reduced resources.
49. In this regard, sustaining the level of petroleum prices is no longer possible. The government, since coming into office has recognized the economic argument for adjusting the price of petroleum. But the social argument about the knock-on effect of any adjustment weighed heavily with the government.
50. Accordingly, in the last three years, we have introduced unprecedented measures in support of the economy and to the weakest members of our society in the shape of:
51. Tradermoni
52. Farmermoni
53. School Feeding Programme
54. Job creation efforts
55. Agricultural intervention programmes
56. No government in the past did what we are doing with such scarce resources. We have managed to keep things going in spite of the disproportionate spending on security. Those in the previous Governments from 1999 – 2015 who presided over the near destruction of the country have now the impudence to attempt to criticize our efforts.
57. In the circumstances, a responsible government must face realities and take tough decisions.
58. Petroleum prices in Nigeria are to be adjusted. We sell now at N161 per litre. A comparison with our neighbours will illustrate the point;
59. Chad which is an oil producing country charges N362 per litre
60. Niger, also an oil producing country sells 1 litre at N346.
61. In Ghana, another oil producing country, petroleum pump price is N326 per litre.
62. Further afield, Egypt charges N211 per litre. Saudi Arabia charges N168 per litre. It makes no sense for oil to be cheaper in Nigeria than in Saudi Arabia.
63. Fellow Nigerians, to achieve the great country we desire, we need to solidify our strength, increase our commitment and encourage ourselves to do that which is right and proper even when no one is watching.
64. Fellow Nigerians, let us collectively resolve to continue our journey beyond the sixty years on the clear understanding that as a nation we are greater together than being smaller units of nationalities. By the special grace of God we shall come through any transient challenges.
65. It is my sincere hope that by the end of this anniversary on September 30th 2021, we will all be proud of taking this individual and collective self-assessment for the progress of our great Nation.
Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

God Bless us all. Thank you.

Photos:
October 1, 2020
Nigeria is World’s Most Prosperous Black Nation – President Buhari Declares

Unveiling the theme and logo for the commemorative activities to celebrate 60 years of independence, President Muhammadu Buhari Wednesday in Abuja described Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, as the most prosperous black nation in the world.

According to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President, Femi Adesina, Nigeria at 60 theme, TOGETHER, with the logo was projected and unveiled virtually on the 12 by 20 feet screen at the Council Chambers, before the commencement of the e-Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Buhari.

President Muhammadu Buhari presides over Federal Executive Council Meeting and Unveils Nigeria at 60th Anniversary Logo in State House on 16th Sep 2020

The President performed the exercise in the presence of some cabinet ministers and other members of the council who joined the meeting online.

”Today, we stand on the threshold of history as we formally begin a series of activities commemorating Nigeria’s Diamond Anniversary.

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”The task history has saddled me with today is to proclaim a theme that will keep us united, help us forge ahead and unveil a logo that will form the critical pillars which our 11-month modest commemorative activities would rest on.

”Celebrating sixty years of independence really calls for pomp, but the global COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced all nations in the world to think and act differently, has also foisted on us the imperative of a low-keyed celebration.

”Operating within the limitations placed by the COVID-19 pandemic, we created an internet challenge for Nigerians to make a choice from a set of four pre-selected logos that would appropriately define the theme.

”Of these four options, Nigerians from all walks of life participated in making a choice and I am happy to let you know that the logo I would be unveiling is a product of choice from the Nigerian people,” President Buhari said.

Speaking further on the logo, the President declared:

”The selected option depicts our togetherness, a country of over 200 million people whose natural talent, grit and passion glitter like the precious DIAMOND we are.

”This, to me, is a special appreciation to our most precious asset – our people. Everywhere you go, Nigerians are sparkling like diamonds in the pack, whether in academia, business, innovation, music, movie, entertainment, fashion and culture.

”Furthermore, the neatly encrusted Diamond on the Nigerian Map symbolizes our age of treasure, the worth of the Nigerian people with our sparkle to the admiration of the world.

‘‘In the same vein, the pear green and dark green colours should respectively remind us of our warmth, welcoming spirit and love as well as the abundant wealth inherent in our human capital and the richness of our land.

‘‘All these properties make us unarguably the most prosperous black nation in the world and Africa’s largest economy.’’

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On the theme of TOGETHER, President Buhari recounted that the country’s founding fathers, in spite of the differences in faith, tribe and tongue came together to fight for Nigeria’s independence.

‘‘This shall be a befitting tribute to the struggles of our heroes past,’’ he said.

The President thanked members of the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Nigeria’s Sixtieth Anniversary Celebration for the work they have done so far, reminding them ‘‘that this is just the beginning.’’

President Buhari pledged that his government would work towards greater inclusiveness and look forward to the participation of all Nigerians in the celebration.

September 16, 2020