by The President and Commander-in- Chief,
Federal Republic of Nigeria,
Aso Rock, Abuja,
Nigeria.
Your Excellency Sir,
RE: ADVICE OF A PATRIOT FOR MR. PRESIDENT (1)
Happy New Year Mr. President.
I wish you successful governance that is rewarding and that which offers the greatest good to the greatest number of the Nigerian people and foreigners residing and doing business in our beloved country.
Mr. President, you have demonstrated courage in taking a very tough decision that has continued to affect all social classes: the poorest of the poor, the middle class, and the upper echelon of the elite. The twin policy thrust of subsidy removal and abolition of dual exchange rate has remained topical as your government continues to forge ahead in the “Renewed Hope” mission.
I am tempted to believe that the aforementioned policies that have been hurtful all categories of people in social strata must be a right policy for the health of the country.
Be that as it may, it behooves your government to constantly evaluate the effects of the policies on the citizens, especially the poor who are the most vulnerable. Mr. President, they are hungry! The are truly hungry! And they are angry.
Mr. President, you preside over the affairs of the ignorant, the angry, the greedy, the haters, and those with insular reasoning among other tendencies.To assuage the frustrations of each group, much explanation through the relevant government agencies is necessary.
Mr. President, your government must think outside the box to bring more succor to the people especially as it concerns food. The sands in the hourglass of your government’s goodwill among those who truly believe in your leadership and capacity are fast depleting solely on the account of hunger occasioned by the high cost of staple foods.
Economic pundits are even forecasting a gloomy 2024 as regards the cost of food. Mr. President, if need be, let your government bend backwards in a holistic approach to prevent the catastrophes of hunger.
Mr. President, let me make it known to you that I had wanted to get involved in active politicking in the hope of helping the people, but realizing the satanic undercurrents inherent in the game in this clime, I backed out and decided to play my role as private citizen by venturing into agriculture with a view to helping in my own little way. (By refusing the temptation to exploit the poor)to sell farm produce and livestock not as a “Shylock” but as entrepreneur with human face.
Mr. President, I doubt if the exchange rate is solely responsible for geometric rise in the costs of items; rather is more of taking the advantage of the current situation. For instance, the cost of feeds for livestock, especially chicks has surged to almost 100% since your inauguration till date. The major ingredients in feeds are locally sourced materials. Even though we cannot discountenance the serious issues of security challenges most especially kidnapping for ransoms.
Mr. President, you are a strong advocate of “one egg per school pupils per day” but eggs have become out of reach for many families; the genuine middle class, and even the rich. The government must do all within its power to reverse the trend.
Mr. President, you must evaluate the viral effects of the present economic hardship on the poor and the vulnerable who are in greatest demographic bracket; many mothers are compromising their marital vows in search of extra incomes; many are in a very bad shape health wise; young school girls are becoming sex slaves; and because nuclear families no longer hold, young boys and girls are embracing all sorts of substance abuse and adopting criminality as a career.
Mr. President, I urge your government to declare a state of emergency on food crisis and stretch your imagination and audacity to the fullest in order to bring succor to the people. Your reforms, when it fully yields results will be beneficial to all; but how many would have passed to the great beyond when the prosperity fully debuted?
Mr. President, another area that requires urgent attention is in the cost of purchasing medications for intractable health conditions like diabetes and hypertension.
The “structural violence” meted to the citizens of this country by the successive administrations has led to serious medical condition; many are dying in silence due to lack of capacity to seek medical help.
May I crave your indulgence, Mr. President, that you direct the relevant ministries and agencies to engage the pharmaceutical companies with intent to craft a realistic plan on how to reduce the cost of intractable sickness medications so that many can have succour in the cost of buying prescription drugs.
Mr. President, another very important discourse is the issue of palliative from the federal government to the ordinary people. Without any fear of contradictions, it is a conduit pipe of waste and the opportunities because patriotism has taken flight in many such that any loophole is exploited for personal aggrandisement.Please sir, let your government discard the current process of direct palliative because the intended beneficiaries are always left out.
The government may adopt a direct cash deposit to the aged and mothers by enumerating their financial status through the financial institutions. What I am simply advocating is that the government identify those in the extreme poverty bracket for direct bank deposit. Many have embraced the banking culture and BVN is almost a perfect invention created by the Goodluck Jonathan led government. It is possible to identify mothers in the lowest cadre of poverty bracket and do monthly intervention to them by direct credit.
Mr. President, it may also help your government that it revisits the process of the regional governments of the early independence years how they successfully conceptualized and created farm settlements. The federal government could ask state governments to furnish them with moribund farm settlements and new farm settlements for the purpose of providing basic infrastructure that allows for ease of transportation of farm produce to major towns and cities. The demand and supply theory is key to cost of goods. In addition to basic infrastructure in the farm settlements, Agro Rangers must be deployed to all the farm settlements across the country to prevent the plunderers from ravaging farm produce when it is harvest time. You would want to agree with me sir, that it is also a job creation scheme.
Without any intent to bore you, Mr. President,there is an urgent need for the federal government to re-invigorate the under listed agencies and parastatals in Nigeria for maximum efficiencies in their statutory responsibilities to the country’s economic prosperity:
1.Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN)
2. National Agricultural Extension, Research and Liaison Services (NAERLS)
3. National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI)
4. Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC)
5. National Root Crops Research Institute (NCRI)
6. Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria
7. Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research
8. Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR)
9. Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS)
10. National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT)
Lastly, the National Centre for Agricultural Mechanization (NCAM) can become a “mini China” agricultural machinery hub if properly revitalized and their machineries are available and affordable for potential small and medium scale entrepreneurs. Part of what is draining our Foreign exchange is our over reliance on importation of all sorts of foreign goods; we can turn around our fortune in machinery needs through technology transfer; the void NCAM is ready to fill. Presently their machineries are expensive for rookie entrepreneurs due to non motivation of workers and lack of government interest.
Mr. President I wish you a happy and prosperous new year, and a successful tenure as the President that ushers in a new Nigeria that flows with milk and honey for all and sundry.
Sincerely yours,
Olanrewaju T. Ajiboye
(Mr. Ajiboye’BigLarry’ is passionate about Nigeria)
