Our President, Our Memory Lane By Sunny Atumah

‘’Men I’m checking out. I’m tired of no water, light, and no good roads. You can’t even find a bottle of soft drinks.” That was the 1984 NTA three-sentence storyline promo that had the late actor Enebeli Elebuwa fondly cast as Andrew. Andrew was travelling overseas in frustration that Nigerians had no public good; no electricity, no potable water, no public health system, no telephone, no schools, no roads, no security and no employment.

That drama was actually to make Nigerians stay and develop the country. It amplified President Muhammadu Buhari’s counsel in the military garb as Head of State between 1984 and 1985. He encouraged different peers to be patriotic in his famous quote ‘’this generation of Nigerians and indeed the future generation have no country other than Nigeria; we shall stay and salvage it together.” There was a low crude oil price occasioned by glut in the international market but our three refineries in Port Harcourt(1), Warri and Kaduna were working. The Naira had fallen from 63kobo to the dollar in 1979 to N1.30 to the dollar in 1983.

The economy was with a very low foreign reserve; President Buhari came to power through the barrel of the gun having overthrown the democratically elected government of President Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari. After the coup d’état it was easy to legitimize their authority because of their near ideological leanings to the eastern bloc of the cold war era. As lads we were inspired by a lanky army general of about 41 years, bespectacled and with charismatic disposition mobilizing his country men and women to be patriotic and nationalistic.

Brutism now appeared outmoded. A second in command in late Major General Tunde Idiagbon made a duo of young men with exuberant tendencies who were quite enthusiastic and in haste to make an impact. They ruled with decrees most of which had ouster clauses.

They were indeed military dictators’ but had goodwill until they fell out with their comrades-in-arms at the Supreme Military Council. The war against indiscipline; WAI was launched on 20th March 1984. It was encompassing and a sellable programme with its unique selling point. It had the components of public morality and civic culture including queuing, environmental sanitation, examination malpractices, drug trafficking, counterfeiting, arson etc. The late Air Commodore Samson Emeka Omeruah was the sloganeer in his capacity as the Minister of Information, Social Development, Youth, Sports and Culture Many politicians including governors, ministers, officials and businessmen found guilty of embezzlement and oil profits were jailed by special military tribunals. A senior military officer and a deputy at the NYSC were jailed for corruptly enriching themselves. The administration used crude oil to pay for imports in what was countertrade because of low foreign exchange in our reserves. Thirty years after he ‘captured’ power by defeating former President Goodluck Jonathan through the ballot box. Again he inherited a semblance of corruption and profligacy in government which he is fighting.

With an oil glut, our refineries are not working. With history smiling on his second political trip in its second year running, President Buhari alluded to the fact that the tremendous goodwill had not waned. Last Monday the President urged the judiciary to purge itself and hasten the administration of justice to make his fight against corruption a potent force. To President Buhari leadership is a call to patriotism, which is the ability of a man to sacrifice all that is dear, dearer or dearest to him for the benefit of his country. Some Nigerians believe he is very enigmatic when discussing how and what Nigeria should be, and in which direction she should be headed. In spite of what some critics may have against his style of governance, he is a true friend of Nigeria that should be held with both hands. President Buhari in the current edition of the African Leadership Magazine said they have made progress in fighting insurgency, corruption and reviving the economy.

He said the economy depended solely on oil for many years and he has mapped out strategies to look beyond oil and diversify the means of generating revenue through other sectors. He is determined to make significant achievement to make power and fuel available to all Nigerians on a regular and continuing basis. To him, he is trying to put an end to the sufferings Nigerians go through to make fuel and power available. Taking a careful look at the budget presented to the national assembly he said there was a determination on the part of the administration to provide infrastructure and increase the purchasing power of our people as well as reduce inflation. Experts have suggested a stimulus spending to generate employment.

Two quarters of low economic activity has shown the country’s vulnerability to recession. Having gone far in fighting two of his triumvirate programmes of security and corruption, unemployment should be aggressively tackled. According to them investments in infrastructure, agriculture and processing, housing, labour-intensive manufacturing, health and education should be pursued. Though they may have inflationary tendencies, their effects are less than time bombs of unemployment and youth restiveness. Petroleum refining is an economic stimulant that generates a multiplier effect for countries’ economies.

Let us emulate the world’s biggest oil company Saudi Aramco which had been exporting crude but had resolved to almost double its refining capacity by 2025 to 10 million barrels per day, equivalent to its current output of oil. If that is achieved, it would make Saudi Aramco the world’s largest refiner ahead of ExxonMobil. Value additions in the industry are strategic for energy, technology and skills.

The benefits of local refining are that we have up to 6000 by-products and derivatives, diversify the economy along vertical linkages, create wealth, induce savings and investments, create employment, increase GDP and increase fiscal revenue, and reduce national destabilization tensions. PIB: Please Invite Buhari (headline on this column, September 26, 2015) is for a Bill for an Act to Provide for the Establishment of a Legal, Fiscal and Regulatory Framework for the Petroleum Industry in Nigeria and Other Related Matters.

The proposed bill establishes a progressive fiscal framework that encourages further investment in the industry while optimizing revenues accruing to government. Speaker Yakubu Dogara last Tuesday solicited for the Executive version of the Bill for robust debate and passage into law. The name Buhari still conjures the image of a spirit that is everywhere and watching everybody. But a little bit of introspection is needed now to ferry us to safety.

The President should add more zest in the economic realm. We know that uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. His recent words are encouraging but we remind him that Nigerians still have no public good. Elebuwa the Andrew checked out for medication in 2012 and died in an Indian hospital. Let’s give President Buhari more time as we hope for positive change.