Lagos-based Public Policy Analyst and member of the All Progressives Congress, Oluwaseun Faleye, in this interview speaks on the forthcoming General Election and the people-oriented programme of the APC Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, among other issues. Udora Orizu brings excerpts:
How are the campaigns across the country going for Asiwaju Tinubu in terms of driving the message of renewed hope?
A – I imagine for the candidate that it is not easy to be all over the country but I am sure it is fulfilling for him and his team, dedicated men and women making things happen behind the scene. The logistics has to be right, making travel plans and all of that but essentially, we are buoyed by the message of hope that Asiwaju is delivering to people at these campaigns and very happy at the reception that he is getting across the country from Kano, to Lagos, to Benin, to Jos, to Enugu, to Minna and all of the parts of the country that he has been to. The reception of our renewed hope at every place he has been must have made the difficult task of organizing the campaigns and rallies much more bearable and fulfilling for everyone involved.
What qualities do you think Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has that other contestants do not have that makes him stand out and will possibly make him the winner?
There are so many qualities that he has that set him apart from other candidates vying for the same post. First is his deep knowledge of the issues that we face as a country and his unyielding commitment to deal with them.
I am not sure any of the other candidates have that level of commitment to resolving our security and economic issues to be honest.
Second is his compassion. Asiwaju Tinubu is a very compassionate leader and the Nigeria of today needs nothing more than a strong, committed and compassionate leader to lead her in a fair and equitable manner.
But very key is his great determination and can-do spirit that he has exemplified all through his life in private and public service. I believe these qualities set him apart from others. Indeed, his experience in establishing much needed public institutions that has now been replicated all over the States in Nigeria, delivering life changing public infrastructure in Lagos under a financially challenged circumstances given that Lagos State funds were withheld by ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo at that time as well as his ability to marshal intelligent men and women of expertise to action as a formidable team to tackle our developmental challenges certainly set him apart from other contestants.
You and your friends recently held a Business Lunch with Asiwaju Tinubu in Lagos. What was that about and what did you seek to achieve at the meeting with the candidate?
To us the conveners, it was an intellectual engagement between the business community and the political stakeholders in Nigeria, setting the stage for what should be a sustainable collaboration between the public and the private sectors for collective benefit in the form of accelerated growth of the Nigerian economy.
Represented at the event were dynamic individuals playing leading roles in key economic sectors such as the healthcare, insurance, legal, mining and solid minerals, construction and housing, entertainment, technology space, finance, education, oil and gas, power and energy, infrastructural development and finance, sports, creative industry among others.
And it was in recognition of their rich background in economic activities in different sectors that we invited them to come and give their practical insights to the candidate on policies that will move their respective sectors forward and unleash the economic potentials of Nigeria.
For the participants and invited guests, it was to provide useful insights, inputs and feedback gained from their practical experiences to better enrich the APC Action Plans under Asiwaju’s leadership.
And for the candidate it was a listening session, to receive well-intentioned and well-informed feedback from those operating the engine room of our economy such that policy formulation and regulations becomes all-inclusive and undertaken with extensive collaboration of key stakeholders. In response to some of the participants’ comments, Asiwaju made a lot of bold policy statements such as his commitment to remove oil subsidy and use the funds saved from the removal on social programmes and providing infrastructure, to his commitment to increasing our gas utilization and monetization by targeting the African and European markets with his plan to continue building the necessary evacuation infrastructure to these markets, as well as his commitment to increase our power generation, transmission and distribution capacity including his commitments to public private partnership to delivering public infrastructure. He made a lot of policy commitments that Nigerians can hold on to, so, we are happy about that.
By and large, we achieved our objectives as we brought the business community to share innovative and novel ideas with the leading frontline candidate that will be sworn in as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria come May 29, 2023 with the support of the mass of Nigerians and it is important to note that this sort of engagements will be continued leading to the election and sustained during the administration of Asiwaju Tinubu.
Given the importance of Power to businesses and productivity, can you please tell us how Asiwaju Tinubu will solve the protracted challenge of power in Nigeria?
Asiwaju Tinubu has indicated that he will make sure that Nigerians have the energy requirement to excel in their different endeavors and that is a bold policy statement. And he intends to do this by continuing with the huge investment that has gone into improving our transmission lines to making sure that all of the power that is currently being generated is getting to our homes.
If you are observant, you will see the various transmission components that are required as part of the deal struck with Germany and Siemens to improve our transmission and distribution capacities being transported to various locations across the country. I have seen a couple of them on our roads and we will begin to see the benefit in more power to our homes very soon.
Asiwaju has also promised to continue the reforms that will keep improving the power sector so that is a very good thing.
He promised that there shall be no more estimated billings which means that Nigerians will only pay for the power they consume which is very important and you know how impactful that is to the ordinary Nigerians.
Also important are his plans to support domestic manufacturing of meters, cables and other crucial elements in delivering power so that Nigerians can also take advantage of the opportunities in the power sector and create more direct and indirect job opportunities within and outside the sector.
Another great initiative of the APC and Asiwaju’s Action Plan is also to deepen reforms and bring forth policy framework to grow the renewable energy sector, looking at alternative sources such as solar panels to bring power to millions of Nigerians who are outside the national grid.
Of course, also worthy of mention are his plans to reinvigorate the rural electrification programmes of this present administration and he has given his commitment to mobilize both public and private capital for the delivery of electricity to our rural communities.
Asiwaju is promising to restructure our economy, grow the GDP by 10% by 2027, and cut the unemployment rate by half within four years. Where is this growth going to come from? How does he intend to achieve these promises?
Thank you for the question and it is important to bring clarity to these issues so that Nigerians can make better and informed decisions.
Asiwaju’s economic plan is to restructure our national economic model by leading us towards a production and export-led growth rather than be an import dependent nation. This economic model restructuring is hinged on enhancing our national productivity by increasing our agro-allied activities, encouraging and increasing local manufacturing and industrial revolution as a substitution for the things we import, particularly the everyday items that we use as a people. Asiwaju also intend to intensify Nigeria’s grand national infrastructural campaign to reconstruct and expand the numbers of our highways, railways, airways, supply portable water and renovate our old dams and new ones that will provide irrigation for agriculture and power generation.
We see a nexus between our national economic growth and increased agro-allied productivity, the enablement of agro-allied value adding local manufacturing as well as our national infrastructural campaign focusing not only on major highways but also prioritized rural roads that will serve as conduit of agricultural produce from farm to market and food processing factories.
The combined efforts of increasing our agro-allied productivity, enabling and increasing local manufacturing and undertaking a national infrastructural campaign will be a panacea for his job creation endeavours such that our unemployed population including the very youthful ones will begin to see and take opportunities in agro-allied businesses.
The mandate to increase our arable land for cultivation from the present 35% to 65% will come with increased productivity in the sector and that will also be a catalyst for job creation.
The local manufacturing entities will be employers of labour and the national infrastructural campaign will be done on the back of the labour of our youthful population so you can begin to see where the jobs will come from when he said he will half the youth unemployment numbers in four years.
These objectives are achievable with the right strategies that Asiwaju has put before Nigerians. Certainly, all of these activities will ultimately translate into growth in real GDP terms and that is also why we believe that Nigeria will see growth under the administration of Asiwaju Tinubu.
We can delve deeper into the benefits that will come from his deeply thought-out policies on Transportation, Housing, Power, Oil and Gas and the digital economy which will unleash the economic potentials of Nigeria and show Nigerians that the achievement of his objectives is not built on pipe dreams but on concrete and deeply held believes and action plans.
Talking about Housing, every successive government in Nigeria has promised mass housing for all Nigerians but that seems to be only promises without manifestation. What are Asiwaju’s Housing policies that people can hold on to as housing is a critical measure of well-being for people?
You are right. The issue of housing is very emotive for Nigerians and rightly so. Shelter is an important consideration for everyone, as a matter of fact, it should form part of fundamental human right and Government must do its part not only in providing housing but in enabling people to own their homes. You may also be right that Governments have always promised one defining policy or the other regarding housing but it is important to note that under President Buhari’s Government, the Federal Ministry of Housing has embarked and still embarking on a National Housing Programme with affordability and acceptability as key guiding principles in almost every State of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory. This is a good step in the right direction and worthy of multiplying.
With respect to Asiwaju’s housing policy, it is as more a housing policy and a social correction tool and I will explain the social correction aspect of it in great details later.
First to the policy as it relates to housing, his objective is to foster mortgage and consumer credit as well as enhance home ownership by Nigerians. So, Asiwaju has said he will look at all the federal agencies responsible for home ownership and bring them under one body that is big enough to execute the mandate to grant low interest rate mortgages directly to the people, guarantee qualified mortgages issued by banks, and purchase mortgages from private banks.
The mandate to guarantee and repurchase mortgages will incentivize banks to give mortgage and will also deepen secondary mortgage market because banks then know that they can always sell their mortgage portfolio to a robust federal agency that is equipped to afford it and this allows them to now issue more mortgage to other Nigerians thereby keeping the housing mortgage industry stimulated. And there are securitization mechanisms to make this happen once the right policy framework is provided.
It is also the general consensus that further reforms to the Lands Use Act will stimulate home ownership in Nigeria. Envisaged reforms that will streamline and rationalize land conveyance processes, lower transaction costs, eliminate delays and promote efficiency in allocation and use of land will accelerate the growth of the housing industry and increase home ownership with attendant lower cost. Asiwaju is committed to working with all the State Governments under his administration to initiate and bring about these reforms.
Another of his Action Plans is to provide credits and incentives to housing developers such that a significant portion of their housing projects are dedicated to affordable housing as it is done in other climes that we look to emulate.
He has promised to provide the pathway for the poorest among us to get into the housing ladder and also encourage other components of our federation to embrace legislation that would make it possible to eliminate payment of yearly and multiple years of rent in advance.
At the core of Asiwaju’s housing and consumer credit and lending reform is the social correction tool anchored on the believe that the practice of home acquisition as well as other consumer products on a cash and carry basis fuels the level of corruption that we have in Nigeria and it is only by fostering a sustainable and inclusive mortgage and consumer lending system that the penchant for corruption can be reduced in Nigeria.
Another crucial matter for consideration is the state of our national security. You will agree with me that all of these lofty plans with respect to the economy, agriculture and all of that cannot be achieved if our security is parlous. Nigerians are worried about the state of our security and we believe it is important to speak to their concern. Do you think Asiwaju Tinubu has done enough to allay their fears?
The general consensus is that security is the bedrock of any prosperous and democratic society and that knowledge is not lost on our candidate.
Tinubu has stated it clearly that the safety, freedom and prosperity of all Nigerians shall be his highest priorities at all times. His commitment in that regard is not hollow. His commitment is borne out of his past experience. We know he sanitized the security situation in Lagos during his tenure as Governor using creative policies and interventions to tame violent crimes.
He has promised very radical changes to our security architecture and this is very key because as a country we must redefine our military doctrines and practices using both kinetic and non-kinetic means to respond to our security challenges.
First is the plan to bolster our security forces that will take cognizance of the number of our security and law enforcement personnel vis-a-vis our population. We believe that the number of our military personnel is low compared to our national population. It is grossly below the globally accepted standard and increasing the number of our personnel as well as enhancing their welfare and salaries will not only bridge that gap but will also bring about more jobs.
Asiwaju has promised to set up and train specialist units to be known as Anti-Terrorist Battalions to combat terrorisms, kidnapping, banditry and other violent crimes. This specialized unit will be highly trained and incentivized to undertake this important work. He will also continue the heavy investment to upgrade our tactical communication and logistic support as well as upgrade our weaponry systems which are key to give the sort of aerial and technological advantage needed to suppress insurgents and bandits.
What in your view are the underlying reasons for the insecurity we see in the country and banditry particularly in the Northern Nigeria. Are they driven by economic challenges or are they political in nature?
Insecurity in any given society is mostly driven by lack of economic opportunities. And that is why Asiwaju’s plans to address some of our security challenges by enhancing our economic opportunities are commendable. Without a doubt, a much more inclusive economic environment will enable people to earn decent income and they will be less inclined to take actions that are disruptive to peace.
In the north, the security challenges we face in that part of the country will be addressed in my view by few fundamental actions. First is for us to recognize the driver of these conflicts.
They are first security challenges exacerbated by climate change that has degraded the environment and made the sort of sustenance farming that these communities are used to much more difficult all through the Sahel region to the Northern part of this country. This is what fuels economic migration that gives rise to conflict and dislocation in our community.
Second is the issue of civil strives that arose in countries such as Libya and Mali that also fueled non-state actors’ migration towards that part of our country and brought about arms proliferation.
The third consideration is akin to resource fueled conflict. We feel that the security situation in the North East and North West and generally in the North is amplified by the exploration of our mineral resources that abound in these states by unlicensed operators and non-state actors.
The solutions are therefore threefold. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has stated that he will complete the Great Green Wall of the North to mitigate the effects of desertification and deforestation that compounds economic migration and leads to instability. The Great Green Wall of Nigeria is part of a wider African Union led initiative to address desertification, land degradation, promote climate change adaption and resilience strategies and improve food security in the Sahara and Sahel regions. And under the initiative in Nigeria the focus will be on states such as Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara consisting about 35% of Nigeria total land area with implication for over 50 million people to begin to develop resilient and adaptation measures, promote sustainable livelihood opportunities for communities and rehabilitate over 22,500sqkm of degraded land for agricultural purposes. These initiatives will create jobs, increase economic opportunities and ultimately work to reduce the state of insecurity in those areas.
The second intervention that Asiwaju has put forward in his manifesto is to strengthen the ability of our Immigration services to patrol and monitor our borders using aerial and ground based technology as well as mobile patrol units. But most importantly is his resolve to intensify, as a regional leader, the sort of positive international collaboration with key neighboring countries that will ensure that the sorts of internal conflicts in those countries that tend to spill over and affect our national security are reduced to the barest minimum.
Another intervention as espoused by Asiwaju is in the area of combating unlicensed and unregulated exploration of our mineral resources. As I have said earlier, these illegal practices fuel conflict and insecurity with non-state actors trying to get control of our mineral resources using violent means. Asiwaju government will institute a much more regulated framework for mining our mineral resources, working with local artisan and craftsmen to learn and earn income. A much more regulated solid minerals space will create jobs for members of the host communities.
