Restructuring of the country, reviewing existing security architecture and the battle against corruption and adopting more realistic approaches to tackle food insecurity are top on the wish list of elders statesmen and leaders of thought under the group, The Patriots, and other stakeholders, to President Bola Tinubu in the new year.
Stakeholders like a chieftain of the pan-Yoruba sociopolitical organisation, Chief Tokunboh Ajasin, and the national secretary of the Southwest Agenda for Asiwaju (SWAGA), Honourable Bosun Oladele listed security, power, economy, hyperinflation and job creation as other strategic sectors that can give fillip to the economy and boost good governance.
Speaking to the Nigerian Tribune, the chairman of the Advocacy Committee of The Patriots, Professor Anthony Kila, said the New Year provides the real chance for the administration of Tinubu and other profile politicians in the country to restore smiles to the faces of the people after a traumatic out-gone year.
“2025 will be an essential year for testing Bola Tinunbu’s administration’s reforms and the resilience of many Nigerian politicians. By the end of 2025, many will be able to conclude whether this administration’s reforms are bold steps toward redemption or reckless moves toward perdition,” Professor Kila said.
He called on the political elite to reappraise their current lifestyle which, he said is a sharp contrast to the grim economic reality facing Nigerians in order to to avert dire consequences.
“The political class and the Nigerian elite will be advised to lead by example. With cuts and the removal of various subsidies, the elite must lead the rest by taming their exuberant lifestyles, otherwise, they risk provoking envy, crime, and rebellion.
“It is also time to shift attention away from consuming foreign products and services and move towards consuming Nigerian-made foreign products and services.
“Not turning towards consumption made in Nigeria will make every effort to reduce the pressure on our naira unproductive.
“A third thing the Nigerian elite can lead is to focus on investments and job creation in Nigeria.
“The government at all levels needs to be seen as encouraging and assisting any venture geared towards creating jobs in Nigeria. The media needs to identify and celebrate those creating jobs and wealth.
“For the sake of Nigeria, the opposition parties need to wake up and reinvigorate themselves, not to create chaos but to provide verifiable alternatives and push the government to improve.
“Serious considerations need to be given to law and order in 2025 by all, for without law and order, all efforts will be like putting water in a leaking bucket.”
Similarly, Ajasin said Nigeria should be restructured to reflect the ideals of a federal system of government in order to foster stability and achieve meaningful economic growth and development.
He said the authorities should not ignore the rising demand for restructuring because it underlines the core challenges facing the country.
He agreed with the Patriots on the need to curb corruption among public officials, advising the Tinubu administration to aim at zero tolerance for corruption in the New Year.
“The government should tackle corruption head-on; launch specific programme to eradicate corruption to the barest minimum and with the aim of achieving for zero tolerance for corruption. It should also bring down interest rate, make the Naira stronger and drastically reduce inflation, as well as improve security by providing enabling environment for businesses to thrive, especially for farmers to their farms,” Chief Ajasin added..
He called for national reorientation of values both as individually and as a corporate body, and the passage of the tax reforms bills, adding: “Once the ‘tax reform bills go well, we are already on our way to restructuring the economy and indeed the country.”
SWAGA chieftain and former House of Representatives member, Honourable Oladele advised the elite in government at all levels to boost investment in healthcare to ensure access of citizens regardless of their social status; to quality and affordable healthcare.
On agriculture, he called on state governments to stop paying lip service to agribusiness and “bandying big grammar about their intention and interests in farming.
“If Governor Muhammed Umaru Bago of Niger State could do it, nothing stops other governors from implementing programmes and policies that will ensure more than enough food within their states.
“Most governors are still talking about intention to provide policy documents and plans for agriculture and agric-value-chain while their term in office has been running for almost two years,” he said.
“Those in government must keep improving our security architecture and ensure that a policeman cannot interact with citizens without a body cam to ensure professionalism and credibility in the performance of their duties. “Finally, our military must be encouraged and well motivated to combat banditry and terrorism in all places where they exist in our country,” he urged.
A prodemocracy and rights activist, Chief Femi Aborisade said the priority of the elite should be “to make Nigeria Better’ through “a change of policy in governance and particularly in five areas: poverty alleviation, immediate reduction on price of fuel, increase on export and reduction of unnecessary import, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to take back power on foreign exchange and electricity stability.
“The Western Nigeria region was the richest of the three regions because of Cocoa export and great management skills. Under Awolowo, agriculture was highly promoted and developed, and farmers were encouraged in many ways. They pronounced the farmers as kings and treated them so,” Aborisade noted.
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