Nigerians have been protesting the prevailing economic hardship that has worsened in the last 15 months since President Tinubu took office. While we cannot blame the current administration for all the woes of the land, they have surely added to it, and they have not been up to the task of alleviating the suffering of ordinary Nigerians. Inflation has run riot, the naira has been devalued beyond any other time in Nigeria's history, and the majority of our people are hungry, I mean people are hungry... it is 1984 again for many families, even worse for some. Buhari ruined the country with his lack of oversight and ethnic bigotry that fueled Fulani and banditry activities and took them to another level. President Tinubu has a chance of a lifetime to re-write the wrong he did to Nigerians by forcing an incapable man on us for his own political ambition - you all know what I mean.
We all know the cure to the issues preventing appreciable progress with all the goodwill of Tinubu. His government seems not to have a hold on sustainable solutions...
1. The number one problem destroying the economy is the insatiable craving for foreign exchange, especially the US dollars. We produce nothing. The number one commodity that is drawing on our foreign exchange, shamefully is what we are supposed to have aplenty in the country - REFINED PETROLEUM products. Nigeria has been importing a significant portion of its petroleum products in the last 15 years - petrol, diesel, kerosene, aviation fuel, and asphalt.
Dangote's refinery was supposed to solve this problem when saboteurs refused to allow all four government refineries to return to a functional state. It is shameful that one of the largest producers of petroleum in the world will not only be importing petroleum products but petroleum itself... it defies logic. Dangote outcry in the face of hostility from NNPC and other players in Nigeria's upstream petroleum market is disheartening and an act of wickedness.
President Tinubu should do what is necessary to make sure Dangote crashes the price of petroleum products and gets our refineries back to a functional state.
The DEMAND for DOLLARS will reduce exponentially, and the exchange rate will follow suit if we no longer import petroleum products... One can only imagine what will happen to the prices of everything if the naira suddenly begins to exchange from N450 to $1.
There is a need for stability in the naira, else, there will be next to zero foreign investment. How many big companies have left since Tinubu became president... plenty...
2. INSECURITY.. Hunger in the land is worsened by insurgency, banditry, and terrorism. tens of thousands of farmers have left their farmland in fear of being kidnapped for ransom. It is shameful that Nigeria is now resulting back to food importation after decades of ban on certain basic food items.
President Tinubu needs to raise a special rapid response squad to deal a decisive blow to anything insurgency to serve as a deterrent. We have lost billions of dollars in agricultural production to insurgency and marauding herdsmen. Many investors have left for fear of being kidnapped. It is doable...
3. POWER: Fashola failed Nigeria as a minister. This tells you that humans are the same. When there is no oversight, we misbehave. Fashola did relatively well in Lagos with the oversight of Tinubu and engaged Lagosians. He failed as a two-term Minister in charge of power generation and distribution. He initially blamed President Jonathan's administration. He could not do so again after 8 years of next to no improvement in power supply. His ministry, like Amaechi's, contributed to a monumental debt that generations of Nigerians will pay under Buhari...
President Tinubu needs to take on the issue of power supply personally. He needs to create a team of private-public think tanks to solve this perennial problem. Without a consistent and adequate power supply, the economy cannot grow. Enough of public enterprise involvement. We need private investors.
4. STEEL: This is a secondary point but it can change the manufacturing sector in Nigeria significantly and scale growth in an unimaginable way. Foreign actors and local saboteurs know this, and they continue to ensure that this sector of our nation never takes off.
Dangote said the steel industry was next, and these evil people pressured him to retract his words. Before I heard Dangote say the steel sector was the next industry for him to grow, I said the same thing after the launching of his refinery. A growth mindset is alike. I am in no way close to Dangote level of achievement but he sure thinks like a patriot.
Dangote has his issues but this man has proved times without number that he loves his country and wants nothing but greatness for Nigeria and Africa as a whole. He reminds me of Chief MKO Abiola. I hope Nigeria will realize the gift we have in this man and allow him to help us grow before he leaves...
The steel industry is the bedrock of industrialization. The manufacturing sector cannot grow without steel.
SEMICONDUCTOR (SC). As we are thinking about steel, we should take a step ahead and consider investment in the semiconductor industry. We have abundant ingredients to make SC in Nigeria. SC is the fuel of AI and the future of the global economy. If we get it right now, the future is secured for generations unborn in Nigeria.
We have a lot of smart people in and outside Nigeria who can help materialize these things.
Where there is a WILL, there is hope. This government needs will, then they need to put the right people in place to implement policies that will change the lives of ordinary Nigerians... Cutting salaries half will not pacify hungry Nigerians, real and sustainable solutions are what will calm our citizens' agitations.
God bless Nigeria.
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