Mr. Christain Udechukwu is a London-based global financial analyst representing Nigerians in the Diaspora at the ongoing National Confab. In an interview with a group of journalists, including EMEKA NZE, the delegate stresses the need for government at all levels to set high social, political and economic benchmarks for the country to grow. And contrary to INEC’s position, the financial analyst also believes that Diaspora voting is doable
Assessing the confab
I think the national confab has been very positive in the debate and discussions. It started with a lot of skepticism about whether the confab was going to go ahead, the legitimacy and all of that. But so far, the confab has overcome a lot of those prejudices and skepticism and we see a lot of positive recommendations being made for the future and betterment of Nigeria.
Diaspora Nigerians agenda
It was a very big laundry list of needs because Nigerians who live abroad are generally concerned about the way the political affairs; governance in Nigeria is being run; the way the economy is being run. A lot of the concerns were that we are benchmarking ourselves not against the best in the world but making gradual and steady progress. But in order to mobilize the population, we need to set extremely high goals for ourselves and begin to dream to achieve the impossible, that way all hands will be on deck. But if the milestones are on a gradual basis, then you only, instead of looking at the resources and the capabilities that are immediately within our means, set some extreme goals.
Most of the countries that have made the most significant advancements in the world set impossible goals for themselves. America set the goal of going to the moon when they didn’t have a space shuttle. South Korea set the goal of building ships when they didn’t have heavy duty industries and so, the goal that the Nigerian Diaspora set for the National conference in terms of their agenda for the delegate was a very long one. However, in our discussions at the Committee level at the foreign Affairs Committee and Diaspora matters where issues concerning Diaspora were discussed extensively, we narrowed down to four key issues: Diaspora Voting, Diaspora Commission, Citizen diplomacy and also truly a reform of the political system to allow greater representation for Nigerians in Diaspora.
However, these four items were narrowed down to three only. We pursued the right of vote because the Nigerian constitution guarantees all Nigerians the right to vote and living abroad doesn’t mean we should be disenfranchised. We also believe that the logic of Diaspora voting is very essential to the political development of Nigeria because it means that politicians are able to think deeper and harder about what they want to do because they are selling their agenda not just domestically but also internationally. So, it will no longer be a case of developing a manifesto and not knowing what is inside it. It will be a case of people developing manifestos, having commitment to those manifestos and trying to fulfill their promises in the life time of their administrations so that they can be re-elected on the basis of what they have been able to achieve which is not the current position now for most governments.
Feasibility of Diaspora voting amidst INEC’s challenges
I think we only have to look at some of the countries in the world that are able to organize their own Diaspora voting to see that truly the argument by INEC that Diaspora Nigerians are not able to vote presently doesn’t stand on a very strong ideal. It is on shaky grounds primarily because Diaspora voting relies on using our missions abroad. We have embassies all over the world and those will be our polling booths. We have e-passports. Those can be our voting cards. With biometric recognition, finger prints and so on, it works. So the infrastructure is already there. It is not a case of extra-funding for INEC. No, it doesn’t require that.
Most of these political parties have foreign country representatives all over the world. APC has in America, Europe, Asia and all that, same for the PDP. They all have party representatives. So, these people turn up at the embassies and verify that people who are voting carry Nigerian passports and that they are Nigerians living abroad. Whether they are in Benin Republic or Cameroon, they come with Nigeria passport, they should be able to vote. It is not like when Nigerians used to carry regular unverifiable travel documents. No, this e-passport has a central data base. That’s why the immigration service is able to identify every Nigerian that is coming into Nigeria.
Now, if we take into account the way the Nigerian Immigration service documents citizens and the fact that we have foreign missions abroad, then the logic of Diaspora voting being expensive and inapplicable at the present doesn’t stand at all. It cannot stand the test of proper scrutiny and I challenge Prof. Jega to the fact that if he really applies his mind and intellect to it, he should be able to deliver Diaspora voting in good time for Nigerians may be not to vote in 2015 but certainly to vote in 2019.
On whether the confab has business on some core infrastructural, administrative issues
I think you cannot talk about political development without talking about the holistic basis of our collective existence as a nation. It is important. It is very much like in a family when things are not going the way they are supposed to, and then you say the family should not discuss all the issues that concern them because you don’t know why the family is not functioning very well. It is when you hear the grievances of the members of the family or you hear their ideas on how the family was supposed to function, then you can have peace and prosperity within the family.
This is what is going on at the national conference. You cannot discuss political restructuring and development without looking at the socio-economic fundamentals that underpin and connect our co-existence as a people. So, that is why it is important to discuss transportation, science and technology, foreign affairs and diplomatic services, telecom infrastructure, aviation and so on. It is important to discuss all of that because unless you are satisfied, unless we are satisfied individually and collectively in terms of how we organize ourselves, our living and society, our political systems will not work. And we have set very high standards for ourselves but then we are able to set high standards for our political leadership.
Nigerians should not be celebrating governors who are doing boreholes, when we had urban water systems in 1960s. They should be building on those urban infrastructures so that you can turn the tap on in your homes and not having to build your own water supply system in your own home. We shouldn’t be clapping for governors who are building roads, it is the fundamental things they are supposed to be doing. What is worthy of celebration is when we are bench marking ourselves against the world in terms of our children, the schools they are going to; what is class size, what is the quality of education they are getting, what is the ratio of students to teachers, what is the quality of facility that is available for them to stretch their imagination. Even at kindergarten.
I am not saying primary or secondary school but at kindergarten levels, they should have materials that challenge the imagination of the child, before he even gets into primary school. And when he gets into primary, he should begin to see those things that he saw as a child manifest in his class and be part of his learning processes so that by the time he develops into secondary, he knows what his peers anywhere in the world know. That is the sort of bench mark that we should set for ourselves. And it should be the business of our governors and local government chairmen to ensure that this same standard applies everywhere. so that every child is equipped and if every child is equipped then your future as a parent is secured because the child is successful, you won’t be running about for pensions. So, these are why these debates are important. We should be concerned about our governors and local government chairmen, ministers and so on being concerned about our health facilities. What is the level of nurses to the patients? doctor-patients ratio, the quality of primary care that is available. I mean most of you media people take pictures of primary care centers and they look like animal dens. It should be the concern of these people to ensure that the quality of health facility at that level is fit for humans, fit for the 21st century.
Confab turning down recommendation for national carrier
The decision was borne out of frustration not out of any vision of what tomorrow’s carrier might be. It is borne out of the frustration with Nigeria’s old experience of Nigerian Airways and Virgin Nigeria. Nigerian Airways failed and failed woefully. It was the pride of Nigeria. Every Nigeria was proud to fly Nigerian airways and then when Nigerian airways collapsed, we had Virgin Nigeria which was in alliance with public/private partnership.
That also collapsed. So, it seems to have built the frustration to a level where a lot of Nigerians feel that we are unable to manage a national carrier. It is not as if there is no recognition that we need one. Of course, we need one and that decision about a national carrier is something that is subject to review at some point. It is important, it is vital. Nigerians pay a higher price for international travel than any other nation in Africa, even when they travel to some distance of equivalent nature. It is 6 hours for Ghana to UK, it is 6 hours to Nigeria from UK but we pay much higher. We pay 25 to 30 percent higher than Ghanians pay to travel. Why should that be the case? Sometimes, we pay even 60 to 70 even 100 percent more. Why should that be the case? The decision does not reflect the true intention of Nigerians. Nigerians want a national carrier but they are frustrated by experience and they need vision and hope for the future in order to create an airline that will be based on the best possible standards in the world. That’s what we need.
Government’s concerns on Nigerians in foreign prisons
The question about the concerns of the government towards Nigerians abroad has been addressed by the committee. It is one of the recommendations made under Citizen Diplomacy which is essentially that Nigeria should increase the resource allocation to foreign missions abroad. I understand the present allocation is less than one per cent. But most countries of the world that we compete with, some of them have allocation as high as 10 per cent for their foreign missions because they understand that diplomacy is a tool by which they expand their economic frontiers, political influence and social impact on other nations and cultures of the world.
Now, what we are saying essentially is that with the increased allocations to our foreign missions and a deliberate government policy to support Nigerians traveling overseas, very strongly to this citizen diplomacy issue is to ensure that Nigerians who are traveling the world will travel with same level of confidence and protection that other citizens of America, UK, Europe, Singapore and China enjoy all over the world. Our citizens should be able to travel the world without fear and prejudice; pursue their dreams and aspirations to the end of the world as they deem fit. And they should be able to do so with the backing of the federal government knowing that wherever any issue arises whether they are in the right or wrong, they would be treated very fairly and equity and good justice and that the force of the state will always be there to protect them; to ensure that their human rights are not violated. That is what the Citizens’ diplomacy is about. There have been many recent cases of Nigerians dying in South Africa, in Ghana, Dubai and other places and there is a lot of public concern about the fact that a lot of these cases, not only have they not been properly revealed in official circles, perhaps, there has not been evidently government leading very strongly to ensure that justice prevails for the families that have been affected. And these are some of the issues in the citizen diplomacy.
Now, the other thing is that overseas, Nigeria is perceived as a great nation. We just re-based our economy after years and it has put us in a bold position as Africa’s number one position, as Africa’s number one destination for international investment for culture, travels and tourism. We are a great country, great people, visionary people, very enterprising and that’s why any where you go in the world, you will see a Nigerian. We are bold. we are daring, we are not easily intimidated. We want anything and we go for it and we work hard to get to it for good. It is not something for which we should be shying. It is something we should celebrate and encourage the best amongst us to always be at our forefronts. We should always have our best people to represent us. We should always be a positive influence in the world. That’s what people expect of Nigeria.
