When President Jonathan declared his intention run for the office of the Presidency, he stated on the pages of Facebook, “I do not want to win your affections by giving you promises of things I would do in the future which others before me have given and which have largely been unfulfilled”
When President Jonathan declared his intention run for the office of the Presidency, he stated on the pages of Facebook, “I do not want to win your affections by giving you promises of things I would do in the future which others before me have given and which have largely been unfulfilled”
When I first read this statement, I did not know what to make of it. My position is that if you don't make any promise, no one can accuse you of breaking your promise.
I think the statement of the Central Bank Governor should be an inspiration to all Nigerians, Mr. Sanusi said, "When we ask questions or criticize our elected officials, it is not a personal attack; it is our duty as citizens to ask such questions or to demand accountability." That is why Mr. Sanusi who stood up to the Presidency and the National assembly is now a hero among Nigerians, and Nigerians should probably consider drafting him for the Presidency.
My first question to the President is, “how many jobs has your administration created since you became the Vice president or assumed the position of Presidency?” This question should be on the mind of every Nigerian, at home and in The Diaspora as you prepare to vote in the coming elections.
If you are at home, you need the prospect of a job and if you are in the Diaspora and plan to go back home you also need to know if the government can enact job creating policies.
Lately, the President's Minister of Finance has been throwing figures around that "Nigeria is in the top 10 of the world economy" and in the same breath, admitting that the administration’s policies are not creating jobs. So what is the plan for job creation and how many jobs will be created? A few months ago, the president put together a commission headed by Mr. Aliko Dangote, to come up with ideas and recommendation on how to create 1 million jobs. As a patriotic Nigerian, I wrote a piece and gave them my ideas for creating jobs, as should all Nigerians. In fact I suggested that the committee should put up a website where other Nigerians can submit ideas. To date, I am not sure if the committee's job creation assignment has been completed. If it has, I am sure Nigerians would like to know what the recommendations are. Does anyone know how many jobs Nigeria created in 2010?
The President has just presented his 2011 budget. Last week, Mr. Aganga, lamented that the recurrent expenditure is too high, and that we should spend more on capital expenditure, but the proposed budget is the opposite of what he advocated last week. According to a report in Next news papers, “The recurrent non-debt expenditure increased by 6.77 per cent to N2.849 trillion with major increase in personnel cost and lower overheads. Quite surprisingly, funds allocated for revamping the economy (capital expenditure) decreased by 20.9 percent to N1.083 trillion, a far cry from the N1.37 trillion for 2010.”
With regards to electricity, I am not sure the President can deliver either. Based on President's road map, Nigerians are unlikely to see Stable electricity in the four years he will occupy ASO Rock. The Presidential adviser on power, Professor Nnaji said, “Generation was around 3,500 megawatts, and at least 5,700 megawatts are planned to be added by 2013, along with additions from upgrades to current infrastructure.”
Nigeria will see its first increase of 5,000 megawatts in 2013, two years after Jonathan takes office if he is elected next year. The next increase is scheduled for 2014, and a projected 20,000 megawatts by 2020.
Since Mr. President did not make a promise, if nothing is delivered, we can’t really blame him.
Every week, I have a master mind meeting with a group of like minded Nigerians who are determined to help Nigeria with its power problems. Last week, one of them said to me, “Toyin, all the equipments needed to generate power are available on the market, and we can simply buy them and build our own power plants. Why would it take Nigeria 10 years to generate 20,000 megawatts of power for our people when it takes every other country one to two years to accomplish the same task? The Chinese delivers one power plant per week. In fact, this year, the China has added over 20,000 megawatts to their power grid.
Yesterday, Mohammed Abubakar, Minister of Science and Technology, stated, “The Federal government is looking at developing wind energy resources for generation of electricity in Nigeria, He said about 200 mega watts of electricity is expected to be generated from wind energy in the next few years, as part of the overall effort to meet the nation's 6000 mega watts energy demand. Already, a wind energy farm has been established in Katsina State, which is expected to produce 10 mega watts on completion in 2012.”
If the Federal Minister thinks the electricity demand for 150 million people is only 6,000 megawatts, Nigeria is really screwed. Los Angeles, a city of 4.2 million people generates 7,200 megawatts. This is 2010, but according to the Minister, the first 10 megawatts of wind power will be completed in 2012. Let me remind the Minister that it takes about a week to install a 10 megawatt wind generating turbine in California or Germany. In my last article, I said, “show me your advisers, and I will show you what kind of leader you are” If the President and his adviser do not know the power need of the population, how can they formulate a plan to deliver jobs and electricity.
President Jonathan has been in office for almost a year, how many megawatts has his administration added to our power grid? How many jobs, has his administration created? These questions need to be asked by every Nigerian, and I am surprised no one is asking these serious questions including our "esteemed" media houses. As a Nigerian, I am asking these questions, and I would like an answer from the president before I consider giving him my vote. I think every Nigerian should demand the same. It is one thing to be absorbed into the euphoric of the President's Facebook slogans, but when it is all said and done, what Nigerians need are jobs and electricity and I am not sure this President can deliver on either. So far, much has been said on Facebook, and little is being done.
Job creation requires specific policies, laws, incentives, investments, actions, and leadership. In advanced countries like the U.S and in Europe, candidates running for office campaign specifically for jobs, infrastructure build up and improving the overall well being of their citizens. I am not sure what our leaders are campaigning for apart from fighting over zoning.
Since President Obama, was elected to office, every policy that came out of the white house has one form of job creation incentive or the other. Job creation is job number one for most governments.
Yet I fail to see any policy from our current leaders, and aspiring candidates on how they would industrialize Nigeria, deliver on power, and create jobs. If any of them are reading this piece, please contact me so we can share some ideas. For the Jonathan diehards, who think it is wrong to seek accountability from the President, I’ll like to remind them that this is not about Jonathan or any other leader. It is about NIGERIA’S FUTURE.
Toyin Dawodu is the Managing partner of Capital Investment Group and founder of Nigeria Let There be light, a movement to create meaningful change in Nigeria. Email: [email protected]
ARTICLECanPresident Jonathan Deliver on Jobs and Power for Nigeriafinal121610.doc
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