Mr. President I salute and congratulate you on your victory at the recently concluded elections with a whopping margin of almost 4 million votes. That is landslide or moon slide as some people would jocularly add. We are not oblivious that the leading opposition candidate is poised to challenge your victory in court but I should not worry about that as word out there is that with some surprise victories recorded in some units of prime opposition candidate; vice versa and the fact that as it is now trending rigging was not monopolised by one particular party, I should simply continue in the sure expectation that all is well. What is more for believers in God; it is God that gives power as He wills. Now that this is settled it is time to get down to business, demonstrating that you have learnt some lessons from the not so commendable aspects of your first tenure.
We expect you Mr. President to be ready with your cabinet which should be the first order of business to be considered by the 9th Session of the National Assembly. Obviously, the expectation is that some of the really performing ministers will be retained. But it is time to inject some fresh blood to give your administration a shot in the arm. The expectation is that this time the cabinet would be more inclusive. With a mixture of youth and women and every effort made for fit as portfolios are assigned to aim at having a square peg in a square hole even if we are prepared to admit that the minister is really expected to offer leadership.
Mr. President it is time to really prioritise peace in the land to address the lingering insecurity. The wanton loss of life has gone on for too long and my recommendation is that it is time to declare a state of emergency at particular zones which have proven over the years to be flash points. The Boko Haram insurrection even if it is correct to admit has been downgraded but the fact remains that this menace remains a present danger as occasionally reports filter out of some dare devilry on the part of these insurgents. A situation whereby the convoy of a governor could be targeted demonstrated unacceptable effrontery on the part of the insurgents and every attempt must be made to demobilise the group. And to do this we must be humble to go to any country that has proven capability that we require to ask for their assistance. The farmers/herders problem must be tackled frontally. Questions have been asked why none of the perpetrators of these dastardly acts have been successfully prosecuted for its known deterrent effect.
Every effort must be made to respect the independence of the other tiers of government; the legislature and the judiciary to continue to deepen our democracy. It is important that some bridges are constructed for harmonious relationship which would facilitate smooth governance instead of the gridlock that characterised relationship during the outgoing 8th Assembly. Let us consider certain key aspects of governance as we discuss, say the annual budget. What explained some of the delays in the approval and successful implementation of the budget was the sore relationship that prevailed between the executive and legislature. These delays were most certainly counterproductive and impeded the desire of your administration to make good progress with the achievement of some of your set goals. Every effort must be made to ensure that the budget process is made effective this time around for therein lies the key to the attainment of rapid growth and development of the economy which should facilitate the creation of ample job opportunities to bring succor to the teaming mass of the unemployed youths in the country and decrease the social tension.
There is the need to get the refineries in the country working again to impact on the volume of importation of petroleum motor spirit which has placed some stress on the dollar inflow into the country as quite a substantial amount is spent on this importation particularly now that NNPC has a monopoly of these importations. Every effort should be made to get the refineries working again including the injection of private capital which might be reluctant to engage under a price control environment. Mr. President my take is that it is time to bite the bullet to attempt deregulation of the oil market. We lost an opportunity the last time when you increased the pump price from N87 to N145.
The Central Bank enjoys instrument autonomy in its operations. This has the implications that no one must be seen to openly dictate to the governor. The buck stops at your table Mr. President and you must insist to be carried along as events unfold. But you must be guided not to speak out of tune to give the impression to the public that you decide for the governor. Such a posture sends the wrong signal and undermines the independence which the Central Bank must have and with it the attractiveness of our country as an investment destination. Governor Emefiele has done really well to achieve the stability we are currently enjoying. It is advisable if this stability is sustained which is not guaranteed if any other person is appointed into that position. The new appointee will inevitably come with his own experimentation which is bound to upset the apple cart to present some fresh problems which the bank will again begin to struggle to cope with. We encountered such experience in this dispensation which accounted for the exchange rate deteriorating from about N158 to the current levels of N302 and N306 with all the uncertainties that followed. We must avoid creating fires which we now have to struggle to put out.
Similarly effort must be made to sustain the gains which we have achieved in certain areas of fiscal operations, the quantum increase in revenue accruing from Federal Inland Revenue Services Operation, Customs, JAMB and of course agriculture has now resulted in Nigeria taking over from Egypt as the country with the highest rice production capacity in Africa. Mr. President we must keep hope alive but request our compatriots to collectively determine to make their contribution to facilitating the kind of economy we would all wish to have. We wish you the best of luck even as we pray for robust health and God’s guidance.
Boniface writes from Lagos.
