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Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Politics / 5 Things BUHARI Can Do To Fix NIGERIA Back On Track (411 Views)
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5 Things BUHARI Can Do To Fix NIGERIA Back On Track by Nedumadrid(m): 12:01pm On Nov 03, 2015 |
President Muhammadu Buhari, who was
inaugurated May 29, is the antithesis
of the stereotypical Nigerian politician:
incorruptible, soft-spoken,
self-effacing and deliberate. He embraces
the nickname “Baba Go-Slow and
Steady.” Buhari’s unhurried style has its
downsides, however: It took him
an unprecedented four months to name a
solid but unextraordinary cabinet.
His reform agenda appears to be sauntering
out of the gates, according to
the civil society-run Buharimeter.
In the meantime, the challenges facing
Africa’s most populous nation and
largest economy continue to grow: Oil
revenues are down, currency value
has slipped and Boko Haram has killed more
than 1,700 since June.
Nigerians nevertheless expect their new
president’s reform agenda to show
tangible results, and soon. Given these
imperatives, here are five things
Buhari can do to get the ball rolling:
1. Carefully clean house. Buhari’s reform
agenda probably faces its
greatest threat from corrupt, old-school
politicians within his own All
Progressives Congress (APC) party. Buhari
should neutralize some of the
APC’s shadiest figures, who could emerge as
“veto players,” as described
in Carl LeVan’s recent book.
Examples of these kleptocrats are not hard
to find. The U.S. Department
of Justice has accused one sitting APC
governor of helping former dictator
Sani Abacha steal at least $458 million from
state coffers. Likewise,
both APC candidates in the upcoming Kogi
and Bayelsa State governorship
elections have been indicted by Nigeria’s
anti-corruption agency.
Admittedly, housecleaning carries political
risks for Buhari. After all,
his victorious electoral coalition included
powerful defectors from former
president Goodluck Jonathan’s People’s
Democratic Party (PDP). If he
unduly antagonizes these establishment
figures, they could derail his
party’s newfound dominance by joining
their former comrades in the
opposition PDP.
2. Pare down the parastatals. Buhari has an
opportunity to realize
immediate savings by eliminating or
merging some of Nigeria’s more than
500 federal parastatals and boards.
Parastatals are government-operated
companies or commercial agencies. Pundits
allege that past presidents
used parastatal appointments to cultivate
national political allies and
provincial cronies. These institutions, which
range from the lucrative to
the modest to the moribund, have long been
a cornerstone of corruption in
Nigeria — a complicated topic expertly
explained by Daniel Jordan Smith.
Buhari may also want to disband some nice-
to-have but non-essential
parastatals in light of competing priorities
and current fiscal
constraints. Does Nigeria need to spend
more than $4 million annually on
a Center for Space Transport and
Propulsion? Is there an effort underway
to rescue the supposedly stranded Nigerian
astronaut featured in this
legendary scam letter?
3. Tame the white elephants. Buhari’s
apparent determination to revive
two “white elephant” economic sectors —
domestic oil refineries and steel
mills — worry industry experts. Nigeria is
replete with these kinds of
investment projects where state-owned
enterprises are funded for long
periods even if they incur huge losses. For
decades, Nigerian leaders
have thrown good money after bad at these
projects because, as Robinson
and Torvik argue, white elephant projects
yield short-term political
gains.
Buhari, like any of the rest of us, could
stumble into a sunk cost dilemma
where his efforts to maximize future returns
of Nigeria’s white elephants
only increase their cumulative losses.
Instead, he should address the
graft, inconsistent policies and opaque
privatization deals that experts
say turned these industries into white
elephants in the first place.
4. Rein in subnational debt. As Buhari tries
to put Nigeria’s public
finances back in order, the balance sheets of
the country’s 36 states are
sinking deeper into the red. In a
decentralized federal system like
Nigeria’s, state budgets typically affect the
lives of ordinary citizens
more than federal spending does. Since
taking office, Buhari has already
bailed out 27 cash-strapped states to the
tune of $2.1 billion. States’
borrowing trends are risky and need to be
addressed, according to a recent
report by the African Development Bank.
All but a few states generate minimal
revenue outside of their monthly
allocation of Nigeria’s anemic oil income.
While Nigeria’s national debt
is still relatively low by global standards,
fiscal federalism means that
if states default on their debts, the federal
government foots the bill.
Buhari’s reasons for watching state
borrowing should also be personal: One
of the stated reasons for the 1983 military
coup that first brought him to
power was runaway borrowing by state
governors.
5. Legislate for the long run. Nigeria will
need to feel the “Buhari
Effect” (the sense, evident in a recent New
York Times article, that there
is a new sheriff in town) long after the
president’s tenure is over. The
best way for him to protect his legacy is to
partner with the National
Assembly to enact legislation enshrining key
reforms. With few other
politicians like him on the horizon, Buhari
should put his legacy in
writing.
A good place to start would be an act
prohibiting the use of “security
votes.” Both a definitive article by Uche et al.
and a 2007 Human Rights
Watch report illustrate how these secretive
budgetary line items are used
by officials at all levels of government as
slush funds. Even Nigeria’s
leading anti-corruption agency had a $
1,000,000 security vote included in
its 2014 budget. Buhari has his work cut
out for him. |
Re: 5 Things BUHARI Can Do To Fix NIGERIA Back On Track by Beesluv: 12:04pm On Nov 03, 2015 |
ok, we'l set up a committee to look into the list |
Re: 5 Things BUHARI Can Do To Fix NIGERIA Back On Track by Beesluv: 12:05pm On Nov 03, 2015 |
Where are the 5 things I can only see passage or ICAN case study here |
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