Building a Nigeria that works (2)

A PROGRAMME should be handed to embassies to implement in their respective countries and adequate funds should be provided. Some embassies are literally non-functional or are even going into oblivion at the moment.

Nothing stops a Nigerian embassy from having a cultural programme for their host country or a department to run a Nigerian market or restaurant to cater for her citizens abroad for instance.

There are so many things an embassy can do that can make the nation’s presence felt overseas and for Nigerians to feel protected at home or abroad. Our biggest export is our Nollywood movies for instance; that is where rebranding Nigeria’s image starts, it is the sacred responsibility of the embassies to promote the nation and this aspect has not been harnessed at all.

The incoming government has the task of assigning real tasks to the embassies abroad if Nigeria wants to be a real global player. Furthermore, national orientation is needed for the people. We need to be patriotic as a nation; we should develop a concept of a Nigerian spirit.

The Nigerian mentality has a negative undertone which is not meant to be. We should recall at this point that a nation is a product of human will and imagination; it is also a collection of agreed norms and ways of life. Our way of life as a people needs to be re-evaluated.

The entire populace needs to be aggressively sensitised on what is and what is not. It is very possible. It was possible when ebola was diagnosed within the nation’s territory.

It is the same process and level of sensitisation that is needed to put Nigerian’s attitude right. However, it must be a continuous process.

Values and virtues of nationhood must be fully enmeshed into the psychic of the populace. It becomes a habit and then it forms the character of the people.

The educational system plays a vital role in this aspect. The exclusion of history in the school’s curriculum is a very major mistake or decision a government can make.

History when it was part of school’s curriculum was not really grounded. But the solution does not lie in deleting it from the curriculum. The next best thing is to find ways of making it more attractive and lucrative and not to scrap it. As our people say, the solution to headache is not to cut off the head.

History must be brought back to schools. It is the child’s first encounter with her nation, the study of history is where the sense of patriotism is developed. Finally, the right policies must be put in place. There is no limit to the policies the government can enunciate to make a nation stand.

As development, trends and technology improve; policies must improve along as well in order to meet the needs of the time. This makes policy review crucial.

The first step is to reorganise Nigeria’s political system because it is the bane of policy-making as policies and politics go hand-in-hand. With the right politicians, we can have the right politics. Other areas that require political reform include agriculture and natural resources, education, power, labour, welfare, immigration and sports. Unemployment for instance is a major problem; many youths are roaming the streets.

No nation can exist in isolation and it is the duty of the people to develop their country by entrusting their desires in the hands of credible leaders. Nigeria must remain a global player internationally, develop her infrastructure, put adequate policies in place and develop new systems for tackling her problems. It is important to state that investment in research and development in all or at least critical sectors of the economy will make Nigeria a continental forerunner

Some are degree holders and others do not have the funds to start their own enterprise. The government must begin to show the desire to own and run institutions; privatisation is a good idea but is not automatically the best. It is alright for the government to build industries and outsource them; it creates a favourable value chain.

The logic is that people work in firms and if more work is needed then more firms are to be created. One of the government’s surest solutions to unemployment is to build firms where people will work; there cannot be wastages because every excess of a nation is an opportunity for export.

The incoming national leadership should harness the resources of every state and build industries and invest in the service sector too. The government can own hotels or run ferries for instance and also build cement plants.

There will be jobs and the service and industrial sectors would be thriving concurrently with government having favourable stakes that can run the economy.

A central national job portal is a good way for making Nigerians know where to find and apply for jobs created by the government. The government must not leave its sacred duty in the hands of private individuals; it will only widen the gap between the rich and the poor.

No nation can exist in isolation and it is the duty of the people to develop their country by entrusting their desires in the hands of credible leaders.

Nigeria must remain a global player internationally, develop her infrastructure, put adequate policies in place and develop new systems for tackling her problems.

It is important to state that investment in research and development in all or at least critical sectors of the economy will make Nigeria a continental forerunner.

A sense of patriotism is crucial for citizens to be able to cooperate with the government and these and many more tasks are ahead of the incoming administration to achieve.

Together, we can build a Nigeria where things work. Concluded. Michael-Biyi is a public affairs analyst and the Convener of One Nigeria Extraction, Lagos State. 07037227555 bolumichael@yahoo.com