National Development Strategy Series :16 years of Democracy (1)

President Olusegun Obasanjo, President Musa Yar’adua, and President Goodluck Jonathan 

I HAVE looked at all past Presidents up to President Obasanjo and I have taken a pause. This is because as you analyze the roles of our past Presidents you will see very clearly that very specific progress was made under certain Presidents and very large leaps forward were made under others. And we lost both time and money in some cases such as with the Military heads of State with the exception of President Babangida, and maybe General Gowon. I therefore have made a clear decision to look more closely at the last sixteen years of civil rule. The last sixteen years of democracy and by definition the last sixteen years of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).  This series of papers will be a poke in the eye of those who like to say “This PDP has done nothing” or “what has President Jonathan and his PDP done for Nigeria?” I will answer those questions very objectively. So hold on to your seats ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls because I am going to take you on a ride that will shatter all the assumptions you have previously held. I will expose all the lies you have been told regarding the performance of our democracy and the performance of our Presidents in the last sixteen years and their political party, the PDP. I will also take a sneak preview at scenarios, which would be to say. What if…? Such as what if the Government of Nigeria is handed over to Buhari and Bola Tinubu? What would be our fate? In delivering my analysis I will as I always do focus on the facts. I do and will not talk politics in this NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY SERIES, I have and will continue to only deal with the facts. My analysis over the next few weeks will cover the following 21 major initiatives that transformed the lives of the Nigerian people. 

The Debt Relief; I dealt with this issue in Paper 17 of the President Obasanjo era, in which the hero was without question Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, alongside President Obasanjo. I spoke about the fact that our debt has an unmanageable $36 billion which was ballooned to that figure mostly from fees and penalties imposed from our creditor Nations represented by the Paris Club. I spoke about the fact that it was the Debt relief which was a combination of debt forgiveness and a debt buyback scheme that provided the foundation for the growth of the Nigerian economy which made it possible for the new industries of telecommunications, real estate, information Technology and Entertainment to take hold. If we did not have a foundation then all we are enjoying today would not have been possible and the debt relief in my opinion is where it all got started. 

The Telecommunication Revolution; I dealt with this in paper 19 of the President Obasanjo Era.  Please seek out the publication if you choose to read up on it. The heroes here were Dr. Ernest Ndukwe and President Obasanjo. It was a complete revolution as many Nigerians were able to talk to each other on the go for the first time. It was an era that shattered the norms such as the one we were told by the Military Governments of the past the Telephones was not for everybody and that poor people should not have phones. Well look who is laughing now Mr. Military Politian, my Driver, my Cook, my Gate man and my Nanny all have mobile phones, and that would not have been possible if we did not have a Telecommunications revolution supported by the PDP controlled Federal Government.  

The Banking Revolution; I will give a little insight into how this happened and what were the net results. Our heroes here were Prof Charles Chukwuma Soludo and off course President Obasanjo and the Federal Government who stood by him.  It was hard, it was bloody and it was scary but at the end of the day Nigeria was the winner and the Banking Consolidation was another foundation building event that the Federal Government under our democratic system was able to lay and for which industry was able to build on and a monumental growth period has ensued as a direct result. 

The Stock Market Revolution; I was a part of this and so I had a front seat during this one. The heroes in this case were President Obasanjo and Dr. Ndi Okereke Onyiuke.  I will give you more details on this revolution in the days ahead. However we took a stock market that had less than 250,000 active investors to over 5 million active investors in less than five years. That was nothing short of revolutionary. In the process and along the way we created a new generation of billionaire Entrepreneurs, who were the ones that shaped the banking industry, the information Technology industry, the manufacturing industry, even the transportation industry. 

The Corporate Nigeria Revolution; again I had a front seat here and so I will give you a detailed analysis of the events that led to this and the impact on Nigeria. Not much has known as Corporate Nigeria before 1999. I will tell you how it all came to pass. And who the Heros were. 

The Privatization Revolution; again I was a player in this revolution and so I have the details of many of the transactions that made privatization work. The heroes here were shared between Malam El Rufai and Mrs Irene Chigbue, and more recently President Goodluck Jonathan who succeeded in privatizing the Power Holding Company of Nigeria. Again this was the backbone of the modern Nigerian economic structure. A complete shift from Government ownership of the commanding heights of the Nigerian economy to the private ownership of the Commanding heights. 

The Fake Drug War; a war that was fought and won by Prof Dora Akunyli and for which she almost lost her life at that time. 

The Federal Capital Abuja Restoration; a major plank of the Obasanjo era carried out and implemented by Nasir El rufai. Even though El Rufai now works for the APC, his legacy as Minister of the Federal Capital was achieved under the PDP controlled Government under the approval, support and direction of PDP President Olusegun Obasanjo. 

The Entertainment Revolution; a new industry for Nigeria music created from nothing and grown from the efforts of the Nigerian youths not needing any investment or major input from their Government, but still depending heavily on the PDP controlled Federal Government to at the very least “STAY OUT OF THE WAY”. And the Government did stay out of the way and that is why we have a booming Entertainment industry today that is highest employer of labor for young people outside the Agriculture industry. 

The Power Supply Revolution; This was started by President Obasanjo, it was halted by the Administration of President Yar’adua and then President Goodluck Jonathan took it on with both hands and has taken it to another level. I will give details in the weeks ahead, however President Jonathan promised in his Power Road Map, that he would put the entire Power value chain and Power Industry in the hands of our private citizens and private investors and he has done that. New investment is targeted at the industry which is estimated to top $20 billion over the next few years and Nigerians will have access to reliable Power in less than three years based on the projections.  

The Due Process Revolution; The hero here was Oby Ezekwesili and her mark and legacy can still be felt. Billions of dollars have been saved over the years as a direct result of this office. 

The Education Revolution; President Goodluck Jonathan has taken the education of poor alimajiri children in the North to a whole new level and the billions of dollars that have been spend on Universal Basic education has given some of Nigeria’s poorest people a chance at a future. 

The Nollywoood Revolution. This revolution was shared between the practitioners and a little known Federal Government Agency known as Nigeria Film and Censors Bureau which was headed by Emeka Mba at that time.   

Pension Reform. This revolution was driven by a special committee set up to accomplish this tsk but the committee acted with the drive and precision of a ministry. The hero was Fola Adeola and the impact of his efforts with his team can still be felt today. The Pension industry has been able to mobilize over 4 trillion Naira and counting and there is no end in sight as to where this powerful initiative and Government policy is taking Nigeria. The Administration of President Goodluck Jonathan has made certain amendments to the law and a new bill was passed in 2014 to give more strength to the industry. 

The Broadcast Revolution. This was an initiative pushed by the Federal Ministry of information at that time which saw to the first Nigerian owned company getting the broadcast rights for international sports competition. The Nigerian in question could not sustain the effort and in the end did not deserve the support he received from many quarters, however the revoltuon was started and pushed by the then Minister of Information Mr Frank Nweke. 

The Housing Revolution; a new mortgage industry is taking shape and the Nigerian press has not even taken notice. It is revolutionary and it is big and it will change the lives of millions of Nigerians. Millions of Nigerians will for the first time be able to own their own homes. Our Hero here is President Goodluck Jonathan alongside Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, who is currently the coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance. 

The Transportation Revolution; a new automobile policy and a new railway policy is again transforming Nigerian society and the Press has not noticed. A 13 billion dollar investment for the construction of rail lines from the western Nigeria to the East and from the East to the North has been secured from CHINA, under the Goodluck Administration and in a few years Nigeria will be a very different place. President Goodluck Jonathan is a True Nigerian hero here and I will give you the details in the stories coming in the next few weeks. 

The Nigeria Content in Oil and Gas Revolution; so you want to be a billionaire? Well many Nigerians said YES to this question and they got their wishes. The Nigeria Content bill and policy has had more of a transformation effect on Nigeria on society, on Nigerian life and on the growth of the Nigerian Entrepreneur than possibly all other Federal and State Government Policies in the last five years put together. Dollar billionaires have emerged in Nigeria and they are not making any apologies for it. At the last count Nigerian Entrepreneurs have participated in opportunities worth over $40 billion in the last three years and it is growing. We have President Goodluck Jonathan to thank for this one. He is the undisputed hero in this space. 

The Sovereign Wealth Fund and the Public savings Revolution; Public and Savings are like oil and water the two do not mix. Most Public Institutions in Africa and especially in Nigeria’s history are known for spending money and not saving. However Goodluck Jonathan and his Administration changed all that. By drafting a new law that sets aside a certain amount that must be saved by the Nation on a yearly basis and setting up an institution that is charged with the responsibility to manage that savings Nigeria has cracked the spend spend spend mentality for the first time and we owe Hon Minister of Industries, Trade and Investment Segun Aganga and off course President Goodluck Jonathan the Glory for this.   

The Agriculture Revolution; I am sure you thought I had missed this one. How can I? When we all know what a mess Nigerian agriculture sector has been kept in over the last fifty or so years. Until President Goodluck Jonathan appointed Mr Akinwumi Adesina as his Agriculture Minister, they agreed on an agenda for a complete transformation in the true sense of the word for the sector and the industry and the rest as they say is history. Nigeria is for first time importing food, and in less than two years Nigeria will not need to import rice, a gain we have imported for over fifty years. We are self-sufficient in fertilizer and the list goes on. I will give you the details in the weeks ahead. 

Amnesty and the Niger Delta Crisis turnaround; We have all forgotten how the sale of crude oil by Nigeria to the international community fell to les than one million barrels a day and was falling faster than we could count, revenue was falling and our economy was at risk. Until President Yar’adua developed a plan to save the day and implemented it with dedicated precision. His Amnesty program worked like magic and in no time we were back up and running.