Funmilayo Aremu, Vincent Kuraun, Biola Azeez, Subair Mohammed, Amaechi Okonkwo, Idahosa Moses, Udeme Utip, Isaac Shobayo, Johnkennedy Uzoma, Bola Badmus, Tunbosun Ogundare, Dayo Ayeyemi, Tola Adenubi and Akin Adewakun write on the hopes and expectations of Nigerians from the incoming administration.
As Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu is inaugurated as the president of Nigeria tomorrow, many people have expressed hopes and expectations about what the incoming administration has to offer given the present state of the nation’s economy.
With the myriad of problems in the country, Sunday Tribune spoke with Nigerians on what they would want the Tinubu-led administration to prioritise and tackle in order to make life more meaningful for the citizens.
While many advised the incoming administration to prioritise tackling youth unemployment, giving the education sector the deserved attention, and diversifying the economy, others recommended that the country is in dire need of how to tackle corruption, revive industries and secure the lives and properties of the people.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) advised the incoming government to ensure the nation’s education sector becomes its priority in policies and programmes, and not pay lip service to it.
National President of the union, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, asked the new government to set an agenda regarding the nation’s education sector. While declaring that education is pivotal to national development, and must be seen as the fulcrum towards ending unemployment, poverty and other social ills that have continued to retard the country’s progress, Osodeke asked the incoming government not to follow the footsteps of the outgoing administration, particularly in tertiary education.
He said it is disheartening that the same agendas have been set for successive previous governments with no concrete results showing at the end of their tenures.
Osodeke, therefore, urged the incoming administration to allocate a reasonable percentage of its annual budgets to education and also fix the infrastructural rot, especially libraries, students’ hostels and staff quarters, and equally take the welfare of teachers and other school workers very seriously.
Speaking with Sunday Tribune, a former Minister for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Chief Ndueso Essien, said that although he doesn’t expect much from Tinubu as he is a firm believer that the presidential seat of any country should not be entrusted into the hands of anybody older than 70, he, however, advised that the new president brings in experts to run the economy of the country as former President Olusegun Obasanjo did.
According to him: “He should emulate the former President Olusegun Obasanjo who brought in a lot of experts to run the economy during his tenure as the president of the country. We had experts in the finance sector, education and agriculture and his administration was more impactful.
“However, Tinubu did well as a young man in Lagos when he was governor, maybe with that experience, he might achieve a little more for the country but his emergence is not a pleasant development for Nigeria, considering where we are economically and otherwise,” he said.
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) would want the new administration to focus on issues of immediate and critical importance to the business environment and the overall economy.
The Chamber, in a statement signed by its Director General, Dr Chinyere Almona, described the present business environment as ‘tenuous and fragile,’ a development attributed to inappropriate and poorly-implemented policies and interventions of the outgoing administration.
“There are fiscal policy gaps, unsuitable monetary policies, and administrative inefficiencies which are inimical to the proper functioning of the economy. These should be reviewed and urgently reversed for immediate gains,” the chamber stated.
Areas of grave concern, the business advocacy group added, include arbitrage-urging non-unified exchange rates, incidence of market shocks, massive infrastructural deficits and unsustainable debt burden.
Another issue, it added, is the recently-approved fiscal policy measures which are at variance with the pre-existing but fully agreed-on FPM roadmap 2022–2024, which it says run parallel to real sector growth and should be suspended forthwith to be reviewed after due consultations with stakeholders.
It, therefore, urged the new government to sustain interventions in select sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, and export to boost the nation’s foreign exchange earnings capacity.
“We urge the government to keep track of the plans to tackle the menace of oil theft and to boost oil exports. The LCCI encourages the new government to tackle the issue of subsidy removal with alacrity and with its economic consciousness. The decision, however, must be combined with humaneness for the sake of the most vulnerable.
“Security is an issue that must also be dealt with to ensure a conducive investment climate.
“Generally, the government should support sectors with diminishing contributions to GDP as well as those whose value chains are domesticated. Some of the policies implemented by the outgoing administration might have been well-intentioned, however, implementation was a challenge,” the chamber stated.
Speaking with Sunday Tribune, the national president of the African Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON), Chief Frank Ogunojemite, lamented that the maritime industry is extremely politicised and this, he stated, has continued to impact negatively on the industry.
Ogunojemite, therefore, called on the incoming government to unbundle the Federal Ministry of Transportation, the ministry in charge of the sector, to check the over-politicisation of the sector.
“It is high time we have a Federal Ministry of Maritime. The Federal Ministry of Transportation has too many sub-sectors under it and that is why we are struggling to achieve many things in the maritime sector.
“It is under the same Federal Ministry of Transportation that we have maritime, rail, logistics and transport and so many other agencies of the government. If the incoming president puts in place a dedicated ministry for just maritime, the focus will be more direct and there won’t be distractions here and there.
“Just imagine, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has a service provider called Webb Fontaine. The job of Webb Fontaine is to endure seamless network services for customs transactions.
“However, there are times when Webb Fontaine’s server breaks down. Anytime this happens, importers are liable for any loss suffered as a result of the server breakdown.
“This is wrong and is part of the politics that we are talking about. Nobody can confront Webb Fontaine because it answers only to the Federal Ministry of Finance which supervises customs operations.
“If Webb Fontaine were to answer to a Ministry of Maritime that is in charge of the port, such issues won’t arise. Cargo owners won’t be paying for losses that they know nothing about.
“But in the nation’s port, the Federal Ministry of Transportation has too many things in its hands. Some agencies of the government that operate in the ports don’t answer to the Federal Ministry of Transportation. The Customs, NAFDAC, NDLEA and SON all don’t answer to the Federal Ministry of Transportation, yet they are all in the ports. The sector is extremely politicised. The incoming government should focus on de-politicising the nation’s maritime industry,” he added.
For the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), the incoming Tinubu administration must deal with the menace of youth unemployment by paying more attention to the promotion of sports, saying that sports alone can take away over 30 million youths off the streets and open incredible economic opportunities for individual excellence and national greatness.
The spokesperson of CUPP, Mr Mark Adebayo, made the call while unveiling the agenda the new administration at the federal level must pursue.
“For the government to deal with the menace of youth unemployment, the government must pay particular attention to the promotion and support of sports. Sports alone can take away over 30 million youths off the streets and open incredible economic opportunities for individual excellence and national greatness.
“Sports seem the immediate saving grace from the twin evils of mass unemployment and insecurity in Nigeria of today. I advise the government to pay serious attention to this,” he added.
Adebayo, who noted, sadly, that the socioeconomic quagmire that had been bedevilling Nigeria for a long time now was a function of poor leadership and systemic malaise, said the solution fundamentally was for “a leadership that is deliberate in its actions to bail the country out of this malady.”
He charged the incoming administration to prioritize revamping government institutions to enable them to deliver on the mandates for which they were established.
According to the CUPP chieftain, there is no need to reinvent the wheel because Nigeria has more than enough institutions to cater to its socioeconomic needs for development, saying this became imperative because corruption had been the country’s biggest headache.
“The socioeconomic quagmire that has been bedevilling Nigeria for a long time now is a function of poor leadership and systemic malaise.
“Therefore, the solution fundamentally is that of a leadership that is deliberate in its actions to bail the country out of this malady.
“The incoming administration must prioritize revamping government institutions to deliver on the mandates for which they were established. No need to reinvent the wheel because Nigeria has more than enough institutions to cater to its socioeconomic needs for development, but corruption has been our biggest headache,” Adebayo said.
He urged the incoming administration to operate with a deliberate, creative and visionary mindset to deliver the goods, arguing that once the government targets the significant reduction of poverty by supporting the informal sector and creating the enabling environment for businesses to thrive as it would avail the country multidimensional support system that alleviates poverty and tackles insecurity in the land.
He added that such an approach to governance is not rocket science, saying it just required patriotism and selflessness which had been lacking in Nigeria’s leadership since 1960.
According to him, “The incoming administration must operate with a deliberate, creative and visionary mindset to deliver the goods. It is not rocket science. It just requires patriotism and selflessness that have been lacking in Nigeria’s leadership since 1960,” he said.
Also speaking on what should be the priority of the new government on assumption of office, president of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), Steve Babaeko, would want the incoming government to quickly settle down for the business of the state when he is sworn in tomorrow.
According to him, the new government would not enjoy such luxury of time and grace as its immediate predecessor; since Nigerians are getting increasingly impatient. He, therefore, advised the new government to settle down fast and face the business of governance so as to enable Nigerians to enjoy the dividends of democracy.
A real estate expert, Mr Chudi Ubosi, spoke with Sunday Tribune and also urged the incoming president to consider infrastructure requirements, long-term affordable mortgage, continued research in cheaper local building materials and accurate data for the sector.
The estate surveying and valuation practitioner argued that with the present realities, the Land Use Act 1979 could no longer meet the aspirations of Nigerians anymore, hence the need to make changes in the provisions of the law.
Going with Section 1 of the law, Ubosi said land acquisition should be eased for Nigerians, adding that the requirements for government consent, as stipulated by the law during land purchase should be expunged.
“Access to land title and requirements should be to enable Nigerians to have access to the registered title for their lands,” he said.
“Titled land could be collateralized and the funds used for production. Titled land will also ease real estate transactions and reduce fraud.
“Amendments will generally increase housing stock and help reduce the deficit. It is this constraint that has resulted in less than 10 per cent of our land mass not having any formal title but traditional holdings,” Ubosi said.
While also urging the incoming administration at the centre to review the Landlord and Tenant Laws of Nigeria, he pointed out that one of the biggest disincentives in real estate investments was the law governing landlords’ and tenants’ relationships.
According to him, the lopsided laws in favour of the tenants, coupled with the nation’s congested court, have made property and rent recovery a nightmare in Nigeria.
“Many states have enacted the laws of their state on tenancies, but they are still not enough,” he said.
The real estate expert also urged the incoming president to focus on services, roads, electricity, railways and sea transportation, among others.
This, he said, would stem urban migration currently at 3.39 per cent annually, and reduce pressure on urban housing which will reduce the cost of accommodation.
Ubosi emphasised that the creation of an enabling economic environment would result in long-term affordable mortgages.
According to him, as a stable economy encouraged savings, this would provide a long-term pool of funds for mortgages.
A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Adetokunbo Pearse, wants the new government to do more to establish a peaceful society with a reasonable level of freedom of movement.
Pearse, who is also a public affairs analyst and convener of Reset Lagos PDP, identified poor economy, insecurity, corruption, playing religious and ethnic cards, among others, as some of the problems presently facing Nigeria.
He, however, noted that transparency on the part of government officials would win the trust and respect of Nigerians as the citizens, he stated, are fed up with government officials who come into office to enrich themselves and their allies.
He, therefore, charged the incoming Tinubu administration to demonstrate a real commitment to the people’s yearning for a better life, saying that it should, unlike the Buhari administration, provide equal opportunity for all Nigerians and not give preferential treatment to any particular ethnic group.
“The major issues of concern for most Nigerians, I believe, are the economy and security. A third priority which is of interest to many leaders of thought is the question of restructuring the country.
“Nigerians want their government to improve the state of the economy so that they can enjoy a decent quality of life. They want their government to do more to establish a peaceful society with a reasonable level of freedom of movement.
“Transparency on the part of government officials will win them trust and respect. Nigerians are fed up with government officials who come into office to enrich themselves and their allies.
“It should show that, unlike the Buhari administration, it will provide equal opportunity for all Nigerians, and not give preferential treatment to any particular ethnic group,” Pearse stated.
On how best to address the country’s weak economy, whereby the price of items such as food, cooking gas, rent and transportation has skyrocketed, while most people can’t afford a decent quality of life, he urged the incoming administration to “diversify its foreign currency earning away from crude oil to include other minerals such as lithium.”
Pearse called on the incoming government to restructure the country by devolving powers to states, adding that the establishment of a state police structure will help to improve security, while the adoption of a rotational presidency will give all geopolitical zones a sense of belonging.
A traditional ruler in Imo State, Eze Oliver Ohanwe, advised the incoming administration to reverse most of the policies of President Muhammadu Buhari.
He appealed to Tinubut to carry the masses along and be devoid of any ethnic inclination.
He also urged that the administration prioritize employment and appointment of Nigerians into positions and to check if those given the opportunity have used it to better the lives of Nigerians.
The national president of the Association of Middle Belt Ethnic Nationalities (ASOMBEN), Sule Kwasau, told Sunday Tribune that the incoming administration must prioritize security and fight corruption as a means of addressing the country’s problems.
He said the insecurity in the country must be given adequate attention and addressed as quickly as possible to pave the way for peace and stability in the economy.
According to him, the incoming president is expected to hit the ground running and address the myriad of problems militating against the fight against insecurity.
“Insecurity must be addressed as quickly as possible. As soon as he hits the ground running, that is what we are expecting from him as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. Already, there is a rumour of the military’s complicity in the insecurity on the ground.
“So he must clean the Augean Stable; all the bad eggs in the military and paramilitary outfits must be flushed out and a new breed of military leadership must emerge, that is, those who are professionally inclined, those who are disciplined.
“So as far as we are concerned, security should take the primary position in the program the government intends to execute,” he said.
He also urged the incoming government to give positions based on merit.
“We hope the incoming president will allay the fear of Nigerians over these. People have been saying that Tinubu, as president, is going to look for the best hands, irrespective of party affiliations or ethnic background, he should do this.
“Another area the government should focus on is the fight against corruption. Corruption walks on four legs in Nigeria and if the next president comes in and does nothing, we are doomed in this country because if Nigeria does not stop corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria,” he said.
Also, the former spokesman of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Elder Anthony Zaki Sani, said since Nigerians voted for him based on the manifestos the president-elect presented, they should hold him accountable based on that.
He said: “The manifestos were drafted based on the yearning of Nigerians, all these issues are captured in the manifestos, let’s monitor it and hold him accountable if he deviated.”
Speaking with Sunday Tribune in Ilorin, Kwara State, a former leader of the state House of Assembly in the Second Republic, Chief Stephen Wole Oke, urged the incoming administration to make construction of road projects one of the administration’s priorities especially in Kwara State to ensure socioeconomic development of the nation.
These roads, according to the APC chieftain, are very strategic to the overall development of Kwara State. He called on the incoming president to ensure their completion before the end of his first term of four years, stressing the need not to let the roads become abandoned projects under his presidency.
He said: “Work should resume on the Ogbomoso-Ilorin dual carriageway. It is a shame that for the eight years of former President Obasanjo, it never occurred to him that charity should begin at home. A southwesterner, yet for all of eight years in power, he never reasoned along the path of his people’s infrastructural needs, principally, roads.”
President of Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, Yerima Shetimma, who also spoke with Sunday Tribune, urged Tinubu to prioritise the reopening of the country’s borders to allow for the free flow of goods and commodities from neighbouring countries.
Shetimma advised the president-elect to avoid a repeat of policies implemented by Buhari’s administration to save the economy from complete collapse.
While setting an agenda for the incoming administration, he said: “One of the reasons we are a bit comfortable with the incoming administration is that the president-elect is a full democrat.
“He understands what goes on within the economy. Some of us have worked closely with him in the trenches but not at the level of governance. So, we know he is a good democrat.
“Under him, there will be calm in the country and at the same time, there will be focus and direction in governance. Although age is not on his side, the Tinubu I know is someone I believe can form a team of young men who can deliver under his supervision.”
He, however, added that Nigerians should not expect too much from the incoming administration even though he does not doubt that the president-elect is capable of putting the country on the right path.
He also advised that “the security agencies should also be strategically positioned to look into the issue of the porous border so that anything coming into the country will be closely monitored by the customs and other relevant agencies.
“He has to look at increasing the revenue of the country. I know he can do this because this is the area where his competence lies. He is a businessman and a politician. The economy has been bad over time and we need someone like him to fix it,” he said.
For the Chancellor of the International Society for Social Justice and Human Rights, Dr Michael Omenazu, the incoming administration should pay attention to the re-opening and reviving of moribund industries.
Omenazu stated that the new administration should concentrate on industry, agriculture, security and education, while not leaving out provision of adequate power.
He said: “All ailing companies in the country should be revived, whether they are owned by foreigners or Nigerians. The ones owned by foreigners, we can buy from them and revive them.”
He added that in the area of agriculture, “We want to see the groundnut pyramids, rice pyramid, the original rice pyramid, not the fake one. Then the coal industry should be revived so that we can go through that process and generate more power.”
Honorable Bright Ngolo, the National Coordinator of the Niger Delta Right Advocates (NDRA), stated that based on necessity, two of the major things confronting the nation that should be prioritised are unemployment and job creation.
According to him: “Unemployment continues to be one of the most burning macroeconomic challenges facing Nigeria today. As our population growth continues to outpace output expansion, the number of people seeking jobs continues to rise.
“The World Bank noted that the rise in unemployment has been particularly acute since the 2015-2016 economic recession, it further worsened as the COVID-19 health economic crises led to the worst recession in four decades in 2020,” Ngolo stated.
“Lack of quality education and training for our timing youths, the high cost of living in the country and more importantly is the increase of insecurity in the country which has made it unsafe for our people to even go out to look for jobs, are some of the things the incoming administration can improve by encouraging entrepreneurship and by reducing taxes and regulations on small scale businesses; provide training and support with full access to financing.”
Speaking with Sunday Tribune in Benin City, the Edo State capital on what Nigerians expect from the incoming government, Honorable Micheal Iyobosa Omoruyi said the good thing is that the country has competent people both in and out of the country, hence, “Tinubu should assemble a crack team because we are almost in a national emergency.
“I will want him to announce his cabinet and key personal staff immediately after the inauguration on May 29 while just waiting for the National Assembly to sit for confirmation.”
According to Idahosa Simeon, a human rights activist in Edo State, the sustained and positive policy on Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) would enhance the economic development of Nigeria.
He said: “For Nigeria to attain its goal of becoming one of the top economies globally, special attention should be given to MSMEs, a critical sector that would drive the economy effectively.
“The president-elect should give attention to MSMEs by addressing the various challenges facing it because that sector will help to generate employment for its teeming unemployed youths.
“The challenges of infrastructure, transportation and power are issues critical to the survival and growth of viable MSMEs.”
A consultant orthopaedic surgeon at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Kwara State, Professor ‘Kunle Olawepo, advised that quality employment for the growing youth population should be provided as well as quality education and healthcare.
According to him: “The provision of quality employment for the growing army of youth is germane, otherwise a time bomb is ticking. The provision of cheap and quality education and healthcare delivery as well as a robust social security scheme is a necessity.
“Tackling infrastructural challenges, especially road decadence, improving rail transportation, increased power supply to homes and businesses and provision of housing, if taken headlong and delivered on, shall bring relief to the populace with the overall attendant effect of growing the economy and reversing the massive brain drain we are currently witnessing of our active youth population.”
He also added that reuniting the country is probably the most important task before the incoming administration, especially following the ethnic division that pervaded the 2023 general election that brought them into office.
For the former President and Chairman of the Council of Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Professor Segun Ajibola, the diversification of the economy should be prioritised by the incoming administration.
He said: “I believe there are issues that continue to confront us as a nation, as an economy from independence to date. Unfortunately, we all recognise the problems but it is like there has been a major disconnect between the statement of intent and the capacity and willpower to implement certain policies that we have initiated from independence to date.
“One of those major issues is the diversification of the economy. There is no reason 60 years after independence, why Nigeria with a vast array of natural and human resources should continue to be a monolithic economy. Relying on one product to survive. Looking at other countries of the world, countries outside Africa that were behind Nigeria in the 1960s and 1970s, they have succeeded in diversifying their economy, such that no single sector can hold the economy to ransom unlike ours. So, if there is any assignment before the incoming government, it is for them to do anything to succeed in the area of economic diversification.
“We have problems with industrialisation, the manufacturing sector and the service sector. We have not been able to develop the heavy industries that should be a very major plank for industrialisation, like the steel industry; we all know the story of Ajaokuta Steel. We also lost some prime players in the manufacturing sector like Michelin, Dunlop and many others, they moved away, and many have closed down. The incoming government should concentrate on industrialisation, rebuilding and repositioning agriculture.
“When we look at the products of the primary segment; we produce cocoa here, but import chocolate, if we take cotton, how many textile industries are still alive today? If we take groundnut, we continue to import groundnut oil, the list is endless. How do we revamp the manufacturing sector product by product? I am looking at a scenario where the new government will be able to walk the talk, it is not a question of blueprint. It is a question of the capacity and capability to implement blueprints that have been lacking for a long time.
“But looking at the incoming administration and the antecedents of Bola Ahmed Tinubu and records of performances over the years, we could have a very high hope in a new Nigeria that will be able to implement blueprints that have been more of talking than working over the years. Look at our refineries, we bring out the crude oil and export it and import the refined products.
“It is an embarrassment for a nation that everybody alluded to during the commissioning of the Dangote refinery. There is no economic justification for Nigeria to continue to import refined products into the economy, consuming foreign exchange and causing all sorts of dislocations in the system.”
An Oil and Gas analyst, Bala Zakka, hopes that the incoming administration will lead the country in national interest. He advised that the government ensure that they have an integrative and inclusive government.
According to him: “I hope that those that will take over from May 29 will lead Nigeria in the national interest and lead Nigeria right. The coming administration needs to make sure there is what we call an integrative government, an inclusive government.
“This implies that regardless of what happened during the political and election dynamics, if you defeated me but in national interest, you discover that there are fellow citizens in my party or camp that will be useful to you so that we can achieve the dividend of democracy, please bring them on board.”
He further advised that the politics of emasculation, vengeance, asphyxiation and exclusion should be over.
Similarly, Dr Adetunji Ogunyemi, a lawyer, public affairs analyst and Associate Professor of Economic History at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, said he expects the incoming administration to prioritise three things.
“One is to heal the country. We are so divided and hateful of ourselves that the national project of building a more prosperous country, peaceful and egalitarian society has now been compromised. The incoming government should work on national healing so that the feeling of alienation by the South-East is removed, the feeling of lack of development by the whole of Southern Nigeria is also removed and the feeling of nepotism is removed such that there are no inferior Nigerians.
“Secondly, let there be a moratorium on debt. We have over-borrowed and we are over-governed. There is too much excess government in our lives. There is a need to cut the cost of governance. That way, it will reduce budget deficit financing and reduce our dependence on borrowing, particularly borrowing through ways and means from the central bank.
“Finally, let the government do something about youth unemployment. A lot of our youth do not have jobs and they are highly qualified and highly efficient. They have the skills but there is no place to express those skills and knowledge. Even if it directly employs the youths in the army, police and the security apparatuses of the country to increase the security architecture of the country,” he advised.
The immediate past Dean of the Faculty of Social Science and Professor of Economics at Benue State University, Philip Terhemen Abachi, said: “My expectations and that of many Nigerians are to see a change in diverse dimensions because the level at which we are, looking at it from an economic perspective, political perspective and every other area of life, the masses are pressed so hard.”
Encouraging the incoming government to prioritise the issue of insecurity and turn the country into a productive economy, he said: “The insecurity in the country currently is so bad, therefore, I would like the incoming government to prioritise the issue of insecurity because things are getting worse and insecurity paralyses every sector. It discourages investment and foreign patronage and it doesn’t give a good image of the country.
“Even though insecurity is a global phenomenon and it happens in almost every country, to us, the level of insecurity is so bad. Look at the herdsmen, farmer’s attacks and banditry in the country. The incoming government should tackle insecurity headlong and that will bring confidence in people to be able to go about their normal daily routines.
“I would also expect the incoming government to prioritise the economy. They should look at the productive aspect of the economy so that we can be more productive than consuming because we have a very large market in Nigeria.”
On the success of the incoming government, Professor Abachi disclosed that “The success of every government depends on the integrity of that government and ensuring that things are done correctly, so I would suggest that for the government to succeed, it should rule with the rule of law.
“In a society where laws are trampled upon and nobody cares, everybody then does what they want. But if you start on sound ground by making sure that once you have been given a contract, that contract must be executed and once people realise that your government is a no-nonsense government, then things will work well when people know that you can do anything in this government and still go scot-free, then things will remain the same.”
Professor Olayinka Adenikinju, professor of Economics at Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State, said: “I expect that the general outlook for our country will improve with the incoming administration especially in terms of electricity generation, in terms of more jobs being made available, emphasis on small and medium scale enterprises, social infrastructure in terms of education, health and the other physical infrastructure in terms of roads, the railways.”
On the debt burden of the country, she advised that the government look at more creative ways to stimulate revenue for the economy.
On the priorities of the government, Professor Adenikinju said she expects the incoming government to prioritise electricity and security as this would reduce the impact of inflation on the country’s economy.
“As a person, electricity appears to be something that cuts across everyone in the Nigerian economy. Security is something that should be emphasised and that is one thing that bedevilled the administration that is going, the lack of security in the land has affected a lot of things including food, including investment in the economy.
“The new government should prioritise security and also give priority to electricity. I believe this is one area that affects everyone cut across the various sectors of the Nigerian economy.
“The incoming government talked about removing subsidies and that is one thing everybody is worried about. If the price of fuel goes up, it will affect many aspects of the citizenry of Nigeria and therefore, we should look at how to combat the adverse effect of that subsidy removal.”
Dr Oluseye Ajuwon, an economics lecturer at the University of Lagos, said the incoming government should massively provide housing for workers across the country and fight insecurity.
“On infrastructure, Dr Ajuwon advised that the government should embark on creating road networks that should be seen and felt by all as well as beautifying the environment by massive urban development marked by clear housing and road mapping providing both low-cost and medium-cost properties for both low-income and middle-income earners.
He further recommended that the cost of governance should be reduced and amenities like affordable hospitals and well-equipped schools of international standard be provided.
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