By Steve Osuji
The butterfly thinks himself a bird: It was a haunting scene in Beijing, China the other week when President Bola Tinubu met his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. Such meetings are usually stuff for history: Africa’s great and Asia’s great meeting minds to impact the world on a monumental scale.
But sorry to note that Nigeria has diminished to the status of a toy country. Our host knows it too. They know Nigeria is at its lowest ebb today; roiling in the mud. They know the visitors consist of the poorest among leaders. They know the teeming crowd of Nigerians don’t understand the magnitude of the moment. They know hardly any of them is possessed of any deep national strategic intent or insight. In fact, they know most of them were in Beijing to cut deal or buy some jagbajantis LAWMA stuff… and of course, the photo opportunity! They know the photos matter most to the Nigerian leaders and not the history of the moment…
But the China charade became galling to keen observers when President Tinubu began to boast about being a co-reformer with Xi.
Hear Tinubu: “We believe that President Xi has demonstrably reformed the Chinese economy, and our reform programme in Nigeria is on a similar course. I AM A REFORMER WITH VERIFIABLE ANTECEDENTS (emphasis mine). We have recognised the need to reform our economy and we are doing so diligently across tax and tariff reviews, to various other segments of our nation’s economy.”
THE BLUNDERER’S REFORM:
In the privacy of his abode, President Xi would have laughed himself to sleep after this meeting. He would wonder how that fellow would think himself a reformer yet the rest of the world is not aware.
Xi doesn’t need to speak about his reform, the world can see that China is aggressively pursuing a controlled market economy. China seek to beat the capitalist world at its game sans all the vices of capitalism.
There’s always a need for one reform or the other in every human setting. Far much so in developing countries. Every incoming leader has something he must tweak to make improvements and better the society. Didn’t they say change is the only thing that’s permanent?
The argument for change is always more germaine for poor countries. There’s always something to be changed about such countries to make life better for the people. Even the most advanced entities like Britain, France, Germany and Sweden, still wring changes in their systems.
The imperatives for change is therefore more obvious and urgent in developing countries like Nigeria. In fact, EXPRESSO avers that Nigeria and indeed most of Africa are cases for endless changes and fundamental reforms. Africa is actually a haven for reformers because every sector, every system and every institution is crying out for even the most basic of reform.
What this means is that in this age, the underdeveloped sovereigns are the best and easiest places to govern. Any leader with a modicum of a good head will make impact easily and quickly in Nigeria!
What every developing country needs is leadership with integrity, patriotism and ability to assemble and lead the best hands and minds available. Nigeria, for instance simply needs to unleash her agriculture potentials and realign her huge crude oil and minerals deposit to benefit the populace. If you can get these two factors right, most other things will fall in place over time. Inflation will decline, jobs will abound, poverty will recede and our currency will gain in strengthen and stabilise. Life will become more buoyant, ordinarily smart Nigerians will be inspired to thrive. That will mark the beginning of an industrial and modern Nigeria.
All of this can be established in four to eight years and other detailing will follow naturally in various other sectors, systems and institutions.
A BANDIT IS ONLY CONCERNED ABOUT HIS BOOTY:
There wouldn’t be any need to have a sing-song about REFORM. It would be plain for the whole world to see.
Simple as the above postulation may seem (and it’s actually not rocket science), President Tinubu cannot drive any reform. For the simple reasons that he lacks the mental capacity, the physical capabilities and the moral authority.
Remember he is encumbered by a stolen mandate and he’s busy seeking legitimacy from all quarters all over the world. He lugs huge corruption baggage and he lacks the leadership acumen to pick a team of people better than him.
Simple questions Mr. Reformer, Tinubu: what is the conceptual framework of this reform? Put simply, what is the core objective? What are the milestones and timelines, what are the expected outcomes/deliverables at every turning point, what is the time frame and end point, etc. Nobody told Nigerians the nature of this so-called reform yet.
All this explains why after almost one and half years in office, Tinubu still seems not to understand that REFORM, according to the Thesaurus, simply means: to correct, rectify, improve, amend, remake, repair, remedy, rework, change for better, etc.
THE BLIND BLUNDERBUSS:
But since May 29, 2023, every aspect of life in Nigeria has gone from worse to worst. Every human development index has gone south and continues to crash. His idea of reform seems only to increase taxes and tariffs and abolish any iota of subsidy enjoyed by the people. Inflation is spiked, Nigerians are drained of life and livelihood and production/productivity is scuppered.
The result is that much more money is in the hands of government and her thieving officials.
In a very corrupt, unregulated and undisciplined environment, much of the fresh revenues are frittered and outright stolen with impunity.
Meanwhile, under Tinubu’s charge, in less than two years, Nigeria has become a tragic cauldron. The naira, for instance, is the worst currency in the world today. Worse than that of Benin Republic, Nigeria’s lowly neighbour to the west. The tragic import of this is that frustrated youths who migrated in droves (japa) in President Muhammadu Buhari’s time cannot do so any more. Tinubu’s floating naira has made sure of that.
NEVER DID NIGERIA EXPERIENCE EVIL SUCH AS THIS:
As President and Oil Minister, he has deliberately created chaos in the sector to make room for exponential corruption. State oil corporation, NNPCL, has placed a vice grip on the economy. For an industry it claims to de-subsidise and deregulate, NNPCL remains the sole importer of products in an opaque and heinously corrupt process. The importation is touted to involve a refinery in Malta whose ownership is said to be traceable to the very top leadership in the land.
Again, the world’s largest single-train refinery has opened in Nigeria and NNPCL is making sure the prices of Petroleum products are even far more expensive than prices of imported ones. Yet again, NNPCL has moved into the Dangote Refinery as the sole distributor and middle man!
Let’s just say that Nigeria never experience an evil such as this …
For the umpteenth time, EXPRESSO warns that the ship of state is on a rollercoaster to a crashing implosion, but Tinubu seems too inept to notice. He flies across the world in his brand new Boeing luxury aircraft from Africa to France, to China and UK. There’s our Nero junketing while his Rome is in peril.
Who will save this blundering president?
Who will rescue Nigeria?
Osuji, an accomplished Journalist and Columnist, was a member of The Nation Editorial Board and former Media Adviser to former Governor Emeka Ihedioha of Imo State
