Greetings Mr President. As you take a recess in the United Kingdom, I hope you find time to read this unsolicited advisory. My opening statement is that the protesters of October 1st are your greatest friends, not those clapping for every action you take. In this respect, Omoyele Sowore and company are your real friends and they should not be hounded.

All of us want a better Nigeria. Many believe that the route to a better Nigeria is not through policies of the Bretton Woods institutions. It must come from the vision spawned by our founding fathers, namely, a self-reliant nation that would be the pride of the black race. We have failed woefully in this regard. Our petulant and restless children are our pathfinders and must be encouraged by responsive and credible government policies. 

I had advised in my previous pieces on the need to commit class suicide and work conscientiously for the fatherland. Governing a people is made easy when you take your self-interest out of the way. As I see it, you are being encumbered by the self. Cure the self and free yourself from its chains. You would be free and Nigeria would be free.

A word for the security forces. The security forces have continued to behave as though in the service of colonial masters of old. They suffer from what I have called the Glover Syndrome, a mental state in which the people, the ‘reason of state’, are seen as the enemy.  The people are your boss, not the government of the day, which is transient. This fact should be the core of your training and your doctrinal credo. Your duty should always be to protect the citizens against harm, not their tormentors. The brutal approach to interfacing with the people.

Mr President, I searched for the core message of the Independence Day broadcast. I found the point centred on a proposed 30-Day Youth Summit worthy of attention. Nevertheless, you spoke about a few issues, namely, harnessing the technical talents of our youth, employment drive benchmarked at 2.5 million, and boost of agro-allied activities.  I shall qualify them shortly.

Here is my take on the youth summit. On the mention of it, I reeled in peals of laughter. Your current advisers must be morbid and do not wish you well for advising a jamboree. Their line of thought is: to engage with them, dole out conference allowances, and keep them busy. In the end, the facilitators will smile at their banks. While it lasts, the youth would be off their protest marches somewhat.

I believe you are not part of this evil genius. Please do note that it will further alienate you. The youth constitute almost 70 per cent of our population, and a youth summit with fraudulent motives is not an option. Mr President, galvanise the national productive forces and unleash the needed employment.

An estimated 220 million people is a big market. Create farm executives through both private and public intervention in agribusiness. Mechanised farming requires technical expertise. Retrain our youth to operate tractors, build and maintain silos, food preservation, and serve as extension workers at the service of the peasantry. This finds rhythm in “establishing a local assembly plant for 2000 John Deere tractors, combine harvesters, disc riders, bottom ploughs and other farm equipment.” To be sure, the Renewed Hope Labour Employment and Empowerment Programme (LEEP) aim of creating 2.5 million jobs will be boosted.

Create start-ups for the current Internet technology trolls who are derogatively labelled “Yahoo, yahoo”. They will serve as your cyber army. The “three million Technical Talents programme (3MTT) of the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, aimed at building Nigeria’s technical talent” is apt here if well-articulated and implemented.

Invest in sporting activities at all levels. Sporting has potential for Diaspora transfer. Encourage sub-national governments to do the same. Invest in low-cost housing facilities to give them a home and curb somewhat the rat race or get-rich syndrome. Encourage some to serve in the security forces, given the deficit in policing our population. Articulate a vision of the future with clear signposts and lead by example.

Every school-age child should be enrolled in school. By the last count, our country has about 10.5 million out-of-school children between aged five and 14. The highest in the world as of 2018 according to UNICEF. This is a great indictment of the leadership of this country. Education is known to be critical to development. The accomplishment of these would change the rhythm of society.

Truly, Nigerians are not difficult to govern. What is lacking is credible leadership committed to people and privileges merit and equal opportunities for all in society. Mr President, Nigeria will be great again. Let this prayer be answered under your watch. God bless our country.
Prof Akhaine is with the Department of
Political Science, Lagos State University.