Urges jettisoning of Nigeria’s expensive Presidential System.
·
Blasts continued implementation
of IMF economic policies.
·
Calls for drastic slashing of
salaries of political office holders.
By Chukwudi OHIRI
As
the gale of agenda setting for the incoming administration continues ahead of
the May 29 handover date, a group, under the aegis of Movement for Nigeria’s
Total Transformation (MNTT) comprising of leaders of thought from the six
geopolitical zones of the country and in the Diaspora led by erstwhile Editor
of Daily Times, Chief Areoye Oyebola,
has made available to the President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, a detailed document
charting a comprehensive roadmap for the total transformation of the country.
The
document which was made available to some media houses outlined specific action
plans and urgent steps that must be taken by the incoming administration to
revamp the economy, fight corruption, end impunity, end insurgency, create a
value re-orientation for the citizenry and reposition Nigeria for greatness
again, amongst others. MNTT believes
that the administration of Gen. Buhari’s administration will hit the ground
running if it religiously implements the contents of the document.
To
demonstrate to all Nigerians that his administration is that of an altruistic
service to the people and not business as usual, the MNTT recommends that in
the first instance, salaries and allowances as well as the now trending
severance gratuities and post-tenure pensions of all political office holders
starting from the president himself to the local government Chairmen and
councillors be slashed down by between 60—70% in order to free up capital
required for infrastructural developments. The group decried a situation where recurrent
expenditure in the country’s annual budget more than triples the capital
expenditure thereby denying the citizens the opportunity of developing critical
infrastructures that directly impacts on the lives of the common people that
make up a vast majority of the population. The policy document expressed worry
that the emoluments of public office holders are still shrouded in secrecy and
are allegedly far higher than those of their counterparts in advanced richer
countries.
The
group argued that one of the reasons for desperation by politicians to get into
office at all cost is the luxurious lifestyle political offices guarantee such
that Nigerian politics has now become more lucrative than drug peddling. “For
you to succeed in your herculean task”, the group told Buhari, “salaries and
allowances of the President, National Assembly members, Governors, Ministers
and other political office holders should be reduced by about 60 to 70 per
cent”. In addition, “severance gratuities and post tenure pensions, whether
approved or contemplated, should be reduced or cancelled out-rightly” in tandem
with what obtains in advanced climes, the group said.
The
MNTT document harped on the need to drastically cut down the cost of governance
which it blamed on the expensive and extravagant presidential system that gives
room for over bloated bureaucracies. The group unequivocally recommended the discarding
of Nigeria’s ostentatious Presidential system while suggesting concrete way of
making a pragmatic departure from it in order to cut down on the cost of
governance. The group specifically urged Gen. Buhari to epitomize this matter
of immense national exigency by issuing a Presidential directive to the
Salaries and Wages Commission, on assumption of office, that “all basic
salaries and allowances paid to you (Buhari) as President of Nigeria must be
lower than that of President Barak Obama (of the United States) which is
$4000,000 a year”.
On
the hydra-headed monster called corruption which has eaten deep into the very
fabrics of the country’s national life, the MNTT called for a decisive action
plan against perpetrators that will include long prison terms, forfeiture of dubiously
acquired wealth and the abolition of the system of plea bargaining as
non-option. The group called on Buhari not only to amplify, but also exemplify
his much hyped “strong moral authority” in the crusade against corruption. They
argued that “the all-pervading corruption in all areas of our national lives,
most especially, among the different arms of government” was responsible for
the economic crunch being experienced in the country lately, insisting that the
efforts to arrest and prosecute politicians have only been inert and insincere.
The group noted that “despite all the pretences and occasional arrest and
inconclusive prosecution of those involved in massive corrupt enrichment, no
highly placed Nigerian has been made to serve as a scapegoat through life
imprisonment and publicised forfeiture of stolen houses, lands and funds as a
deterrent to other future treasury looters”. In the light of this, the group
urged Gen. Buhari to up the ante once in office saying: “The all-important
point is that you must ruthlessly and desperately fight corruption to a
standstill, with our laws changed to give harsh punishments, including long
years of imprisonment, and forfeiture of stolen assets for all offenders,
irrespective of status. Plea bargaining must never again be tolerated in this
country”.
Still
on the issue of freeing more funds for developmental projects, the total
national transformation advocates decried the large number of Presidential
fleet (about eleven) whereas the country has no national carrier. They called
for immediate sale of at least, nine of the presidential jets “considering the
fact that the richest country on earth, the United States has very few
presidential planes, compared to Nigeria”. In a direct advocacy for the
sell-off, the group said: “Please do not hesitate to sell nine of the eleven jets
with two retained”. It also recommended that the proceeds from the sales be
immediately invested in the provision of additional Mega Watts of electricity
that would be sufficient, on a 24hour basis for our industrial and domestic
needs”.
On
fuel subsidy, the group opined that Nigeria has no business importing petroleum
products when it could have as many refineries as possible and rather than
export crude oil, it would be then be exporting refined products with added
value. They counselled Gen Buhari to set timelines for his administration on
when to revamp Nigeria’s decrepit refineries, build additional ones, end
importation of fuel and correct the fraudulent practice whereby Nigeria ranks among
OPEC member countries with one of the highest fuel pump price per litre and the
lowest minimum wage record. It described the fuel subsidy regime as monumental
fraud against the Nigerian people as the oil cartels cart away billions through
mere presentation of receipts without importing a single litre of fuel.
On
Nigeria’s fiscal and economic policy thrust, the MNTT called for the
jettisoning of the one-size-fits-all economic blueprint of the Breton Woods
institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In its stead, they
advocated for a “a coherent, original, deep-rooted and forward-looking economic
philosophy that can turn Nigeria, with its awesome endowment by providence into
one of the most prosperous nations in the world in record time. The group criticized
the import-oriented status of Nigeria’s economy “which has made the country a
dumping ground for all sorts of (substandard) manufactured products from
different parts of the world.” They opined that Nigeria could achieve much more
than the proceeds from oil if only it can look in the direction of Agriculture
and exploration of other solid minerals other than oil which abound in
commercial quantities across the length and breadth of the nation waiting for
harnessing.
MNTT
insisted that “until we take such drastic steps (most of which were enunciated
in the policy document under review), Nigeria will continue to move around in
circle thinking that it is making progress whereas it is heading nowhere”
adding that such incoherent and half-hearted measures of the previous regimes
“explains why the percentage of China’s abject poverty shrank from 56per cent
of its population to 12 per cent in the last 30 years (whereas) that of Nigeria
rose from 20 to 80 per cent within the same period.
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