Today is the first day in 2016. It is a period when most people do their new year resolutions. How they would live their life in the new year. Whether they keep such resolutions till the end of the year is another matter. But ever since people have been on new year resolutions, I have never heard any mention of something similar for our country, Nigeria or for that matter, any country. My guess is that such is always captured by the president in his new year message and also in the budget ritual.
In any case, I have a few new year resolutions for Nigeria which I have made on behalf of the citizens of this country and which, I pray should be kept by the leadership.
Unlike new year resolutions that people make and hardly ever keep, my new year resolutions for Nigeria are not too hard and with discipline and firm resolve, they would likely make our country a more better place for all. But before I embark on the task of my resolutions or wish list for the new year, I want to state empathically that keeping the resolution is firmly in the hands of the people entrusted with the leadership of this country, people who have the mandate of all of us to administer Nigeria. From President Muhammadu Buhari, to the leadership of the National Assembly, the state governors, the ministers and the lawmakers both at the state and national levels, all of them have the mandate to ensure that the new year resolutions are kept.
One of my new year resolutions or wish is for a better Nigeria in 2016. I am sure it is the wish of everybody. In order to achieve this, there should be provision of jobs for our youths and the unemployed graduates who roam the streets with nothing to do except engage in criminal activities.
Earlier in the year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed that the nation’s unemployment rate rose in the second quarter (Q2) to 8.2 percent from 7.5 percent recorded in the preceding quarter. NBS disclosed further that the figure brings to three the consecutive rise in unemployment rate in the country since the third quarter of 2014
“Accordingly, there were a total of 19.6 mil- lion people between ages 15 to 65 either unemployed or underemployed in the labour force in the second quarter of 2015, compared to 17.7 million in the first quarter.
There are many ways these teeming unemployed population could be gainfully engaged. The one that readily comes to mind is agriculture. The government can embark on the building of farm settlements across the country as we use to have in the 60s and 70s. A successful execution of this would achieve a lot. Apart from providing jobs, it would ensure food sufficiency for the country and reduce the over reliance on importation of farm produce that can be grown here. The pressure on foreign exchange would equally be reduced. This does not require rocket science, it is something that had been done before during the period of regional government especially in the western region.
Another item on my wish list is for the provision and maintenance of our infrastructure. Our roads should make driving a pleasure and not an ordeal. Roads should not be death traps as we now have. Someone once said that the government is actually not building roads, but only resurfacing and rebuilding roads built during the pre and post independence periods. Report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) reveals that Nigeria roads are the most dangerous in Africa resulting in the highest fatalities of 33.7 percent per 100, 000 population every year.
The report says out of four road accidents in Africa, Nigeria accounts for one. Nigeria, according to the report has the second worst traffic fatalities in the world, while road accident is said to be the third leading cause of death in Nigeria.
Although, one is not saying bad roads necessarily leads to accidents as one cannot rule out the human factor, but bad road is a leading cause of most road fatalities. It is in view of this that one welcomes the statement of the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi that as from this year, petroleum products would be moved to their various destinations by rail.
The move, apart from reducing the havoc and congestion by trucks on the road, would also help reduce the damage to the roads by petrol products-carrying trucks.
Special attention should be paid to our express ways. I recall that a few years back, the federal government embarked on the construction of an expressway from Ilorin in Kwara state to Ibadan in Oyo state. The project, which was in phases has since been abandoned after the completion of Ilorin – Ogbomoso and Ibadan – Oyo town end of the project, leaving the most dangerous axis- Ogbomoso- Oyo axis unattended to. The government should take a look at this in view of the high figure of road accidents within that short distance.
Another item on my wish list is the total and not technical defeat of Boko Haram. With the new year, we should witness a total defeat of the insurgents, be it in the guise of suicide bombing or guerrilla attacks. Only last Monday, few days after the federal government said the sect had been technically defeated, about 50 people were killed in Adamawa and Borno states. Nigerians are tired of this bloodletting.
As the new year begins today, I would also want an improved electricity supply in the country. One does not need a soothsayer to know that with improved electricity supply, the cost of doing business would go down. Small scale industries would survive, even artisans would make a living. Most importantly, we should be able to drive into our petrol stations and fill our vehicles. Enough of long queues for fuel.
The above is just a few of the new year wish list/resolution. There are still much more that I would not mention now in order not to over burden the people whose duty it is to ensure that the resolutions are kept.
Indeed, if these resolutions are strictly adhered to, we would all say the year was a resounding success.
Credits: Bolaji Tunji, The Sun