Here we are once more, on the verge of electing our representatives for the eighth time in our current democratic journey. This journey, or the Fourth Republic, has outlasted the first three, and we are now in the eighth cycle of campaigns, manifesto presentations, and promises. These are the preludes to the elections.
Contestants will come to us wearing various faces – religious, tribal, ethnic, regional, and even that of empathy.
While those faces are mostly not shown publicly, what we mostly hear from them are promises of what would enhance our lives and well-being.
In the Second Republic, some contestants promised to dig boreholes, lay pipes, and fix taps, but not of the normal type that brings out water, but for fura da nono or yoghurt and millet balls. It is a local refreshment that can also serve as food and a sedative.
But then, the Second Republic, despite skirmishes here and there, some leading to loss of lives, was arguably the most easygoing, with hilarious banter and exchanges among contestants. Many statements were made for fun and to make listeners laugh.
Since the First Republic, campaign promises have hardly deviated from providing motorable roads, potable water, affordable healthcare, free education, and access to farming tools, implements, and agrochemicals.
It is not yet uhuru, as we are still not home, not yet there. One may say we have not yet reached Eldorado. We still need inter- and intra-state roads; wherever you see water coming from the taps, the people have mostly dug their own boreholes. Quality healthcare services are largely absent except in a few government and private hospitals, making us trust foreign hospitals more than our own.
Our education is getting more expensive for the average citizen, yet the quality is still not desirable. Outlaws have made farming difficult, and even where farmers can still reach their farms, affording the necessary tools and implements has become difficult, while the cost of fertilisers and other agrochemicals is getting out of reach.
Therefore, these issues remain topical, and contestants must discuss them.
But these matters are only the fruits; their sweetness or sourness depends on how the tree’s roots are tended. Now, are they sour? What caused it? To address that, we must go to the roots.
One of them is corruption; it is the taproot. Corruption is why our budgets are padded and unrelated items are added to the budgets of irrelevant MDAs. It is also why budgets are not implemented, and where they are, they are implemented poorly. That is why funds appropriated for public hospitals, schools, police stations, etc., do not reach their intended recipients.
Corruption is the main cause of insecurity. Funds meant for youth empowerment, education, and skills acquisition are diverted to lubricate the masturbatory egos of those with access to them. There is no way a youth denied the means to become a better human being and be self-reliant will sit down and wait for his death. He must find ways to survive, and those ways could be illegal if the doors to legal pursuits are closed.
Writing under the title, “Mandela and the Parable of the Fulani,” on February 1, 2021, we said: “But there is also something wrong with the North. It lacks a leader, lacks focus, and lacks vision. Most of the Fulani terrorising Nigeria now could have long been engineers, medical doctors, professors, etc. General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida’s regime started what it called nomadic education. Under it, many things were introduced that could have changed the way the Fulani lived. But because most of our leaders are short-sighted and prioritise lining their pockets, they never took that programme seriously. Now, with all the money they have siphoned for themselves, those who should have been professionals today will not allow them to enjoy it…And, therefore, nowhere is safe.”
Tackle corruption, and you have halfway tackled banditry.
Therefore, the man I will vote for should be the one who promises to tackle corruption. But I will not take his promise at face value, because someone once promised me he would tackle it; his government ended up as the most corrupt Nigeria had ever witnessed—at that time, anyway!
Then, youth empowerment. The candidate I will vote for must promise to engage the youth and help them rely on their skills. He must be the type who will encourage small- and medium-scale entrepreneurs by easing taxes on their businesses. Any government that taxes citizens and businesses in multiple ways is not encouraging production and employment.
The easier it is to do business, the more these individuals and businesses will employ youths off the streets. This reduces the pool of potential criminals by cutting off the recruitment base of insurgents, bandits, marauders, kidnappers, and even religious zealots. Therefore, the more idle minds taken off the streets, the more peace and security reign. The more agile youths are in business, the more production increases and, equally important, the more citizens’ purchasing power improves.
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On the other hand, multiple taxation runs small businesses down, reduces production, and increases the number of idle minds on the streets, thereby boosting the recruitment base of undesirable elements. Material costs will rise because surviving businesses must reduce their workforce and raise prices to offset taxes.
Therefore, the man I will vote for must convince me that he will not introduce tax regimes that will run me out of business, increase the cost of transporting goods, and populate our streets with strong, out-of-work youths.
The man I will vote for must also promise me one thing about the cost of petroleum products and the role of subsidies.
To be continued.
Hassan Gimba, ANIPR, is the Publisher and CEO of Neptune Prime.
