The politics of underdevelopment and the future of Nigeria

By Paulinus Nta

A country is said to be developed when the per capita income of the common man on the street can raise him above poverty line; a state is said to be developed when the common man on the street has access and means to quality education; when majority of the labour force are gainfully employed that is when unemployment is not alarming. Any economy where the citizen’s consumption level is very low, where individual savings are low or where there’s no decent and affordable housing scheme and affordable Medicare for the common man on the street, not necessarily the few rich, is underdeveloped! Agreed, Nigeria is a developed nation, especially states with loquacious governors. We have good roads, hospitals, our governments have built schools, markets and big government houses for themselves therefore in all honesty, we are a developed nation.
However, let’s define economic development from the perspective of political economy. Development involves the ability to plan, induce, sustain and monitor positive changes and eliminate the unwanted changes in a state. Therefore good road network and other physical infrastructure are not on their own, economic development indices but could pass for negligible parts of economic development.
What truly constitute economic development or put simply, the indicators of economic development are; balanced diet for the common man on the street, steady electric supply and the other indices of development mentioned in the opening paragraph. In a nutshell, economic development concerns itself more on the quality of life of the common man on the street, not the provision of those physical infrastructures which are duties and responsibilities of the government.
Nigeria is rich, our economy is growing, infact we pride ourselves of being the giant of Africa. We are one of the highest producers of oil if not the only in Africa but across the globe. Before we proceed, there’s need to differentiate between economic growth and economic development. While economic growth involves the consumption rate and the expansion of the revenue base of a country, economic development on the other side concerns itself with how the huge revenue base translates into the quality of life for the common man in the street. It takes into account how resources are distributed into the different facets of the economy to better the lives of the people, not the government and the few rich.
According to records, our national development objectives include among others, rapid growth of income of the poor and population in general, i.e real income which is the money one finds in his pocket after paying his bills for the month; poverty eradication and reduction, the satisfaction of the basic social and economic needs of the citizens e.g housing, water, electricity, food, the sustenance of a fully participatory democracy in the Nigeria society among others.s But the questions are; how sincere is the government in their efforts to realize these objectives, to what extent did previous administrations reach in meeting these policy targets? Was there any political will to achieve these laudable objectives?
From every available indication, the previous administration missed these targets and plunged Nigeria into abysmal state of social and moral decay. Starting from the desire for rapid growth of income of the poor, the federal and state government officials were more involved in building empires and individuals than in building institutions. Pundits believe that there was no sincere effort and the political will to improve the living standard of the poor who constitute the majority in our states and the nation at large.
In poverty eradication or at least effort to reduce poverty always missed the road and rotate within politicians who will “share the slots”. It is no more news that resources that are channeled to the poor as palliative measures are shared among the few rich who will give to their political associates while the real people miss the bus.
In the area of the so-called housing scheme, it is disheartening and frustrating to see how the housing units which were supposed to be given to those in need, are shared among politicians who have edifices, duplexes and enough houses both at home and in the diaspora. In employments, we are living witnesses to how employments in the military, paramilitary, civil service and other government parastatals even the private sector are only shared among government functionaries only to throw the crumbs on the floor for a very few to fight for.
It is shameful that the Nigeria people have become government for themselves by providing for themselves what the government was supposed to provide. For instance, water is provided by the citizens via the borehole dredging. Electricity supply is still paralytic; in fact Nigerians are flying from fry pan to fire as the so-called privatization of the power sector leaves so much to be desired. The power sector, until recently has recorded colossal failure.
Economic development is not measured on the pages of newspapers or paid advertorials and pictorials in the electronic media, but in the quality of life of the common man on the street. Economic development is not measured on rhetoric’s or the lengthy speeches of governors, but on the comfort of the citizens.
Our governments at all levels should know that a society without participatory democracy cannot lay claim to development. The government should know that when the citizens are comfortable and have access to these basic needs mentioned above, governance is easy! It is very painful to note that Nigeria after 55 years of political independence, cannot boast of steady power supply even with power plants across the nation. It is disheartening to note that over 50 million Nigerians are unemployed and out of these majority are youths.
Let us stop fooling ourselves. Let’s face the fact, the fact is that in a country with high level of unemployment, crime rate and even terrorism will find a fertile soil to grow. What stops Nigeria from growing our economy and creating jobs for the unemployed youths? What stops us from providing steady and uninterrupted electricity, with abundant human and natural resources? What stops us from providing qualitative education, decent housing for those in need? The answer is not far fetch, it is corruption and bad leadership! Thanks therefore to President Mohamadu Buhari who has vowed to clean up the “mess” and return Nigeria to its place among the comity of nations.
To say that Nigeria was corrupt in the past 16 years is an understatement. Without any fear of contradiction, we as a political entity had melted in corruption and crime. We had reached a moral spaghetti junction where, according to the late reggae maestro, Lucky Dube, “today becomes tomorrow, the truth becomes the lie, the future becomes the past….” Our past leaders wallowed in brazen stealing and looting. In broad day light, our past leaders raped our economy, our treasury and our pride as a rich nation. They ruled us with abject impunity, still nakedness, callous insensitivity and banal arrogance. Politics became a playground for the strong, an arena for the rich and a grave yard for the weak. The idea of service had long been thrown to the wind and politics became a treasure island to loot, steal, amass wealth, crush every divergent opinion and dance out of stage when your curtains falls.
Therefore, if a publication, credited to a former minister of the federal capital territory, now. Governor of Kaduna State, Mr El-Rufai, alleging that between 2011 and 2014, the last administration spent N46 billion on independence anniversary is anything to go by, then certainly I will make no mistake to assert that we were once lost, but now, we are found”.
Our leaders lost all sense of responsibility. The Nigerian democracy became “customized democracy”, to the government of the strong, for the strong and by the strong. The winners took it all, enslaved and chased away the loosers. Our so called parties lacked internal democracy in spirit and in truth, even the one who has a relationship by name with democracy. The party did not only lack the ingredients of democracy but till this date, is managed and ruled by men who are morally bankrupt with questionable democratic credentials. We are in the society where 20% of the population amass 80% of the wealth of the state and throw 20% of the wealth to the remaining 80% of the population to fight for; we are in a society where vacancies into the civil services, military and paramilitary is shared among the privileged while the less privileged, no matter their qualification and merit, watch in sorrow.
I remember as a child, what they so call party primaries today used to be election. The party members queue behind candidates of their choice and whoever wins will represent the party in the general elections to come. I remember the soap box, the oration, the campaigns, the manifestoes, the party ideologies and agenda, but today, the “powerful sit and call themselves stakeholders and sometimes, not even the stakeholders, but the “emperors” who have the cake and the knife, will simply anoint whoever they want and the helpless party members will salute him “may your will be done sir!
Nigerian political administration has been subjected to robotic thinking which is antithesis to economic development. This is possible because those who are supposed to talk for the poor are already licking their fingers from the seeds of corruption. I remember my later grandfather, a school teacher, a philosopher and orator, Late Linus Umosen (peace to his ashes) who used to say that one cannot whistle with a piece of yam in the mouth. It is either you remove the yam, if you must whistle immediately or finish eating it. Corruption has weighed a war against Nigeria. Thanks to President Mohamadu Buhari whose emergence, after three consecutive and fruitless attempts, is a rescue mission.
We are very good at identifying, analyzing and proffering solutions to our problems, but we are very bad in implementing those solutions. For instance, the weekly police relations programmes that is broadcast every Saturday, the police boss will tell Nigerians that bail bond is free and that police should not extort money from road users. But in sharp irony, at the same time, if you go to the checkpoints, the same thing is happening with brazen impunity.
Nigeria has all it takes to develop our economy to an egalitarian one, but the impediment is corruption, a virus more deadly than the HIV. We have men with proven integrity who can take us to the Eldorado, but for corruption, we are where we were 30 years ago. In fact, it is even worst because the leaders then used to have some sense of respect for public trust.
We do not need, in my candid opinion, to formulate new economic and development policies and programmes. The only thing we need is to wipe away corruption, inject true spirit of service, transparency, accountability, modesty, respect for public opinion and the rule of law.
This is why the local government system has failed in its bid to fast track rapid development at the grassroots, this is why the Niger Delta Ministry and the Niger Delta Development Commission is yet to create the envisaged impact; this is why the privatization of the power sector, more than a decade ago, has missed the bus.
We politicize our development programmes, appointment and projects. This is why party interests supersedes social justice, individual initiative, credibility qualification and subject us to a caricature of what we should be. I raise my cap for Mr. President for nominating and appointing credible men into his cabinet. I hail the old soja for not allowing party and political interest to suppress his march towards a new Nigeria. Nigeria needs Buhari and Nigeria will need another Buhari, God bless Nigeria. (For comments and reactions (SMS) only 08032974683)