 Cementing the fragile trust
But that was then. Nigeria is a country of unimaginable possibilities. It has traveled full circle with General Obasanjo back again on the "driver's seat", this time as the country's new civilian president 20 years after he handed over power to an elected civilian president, Alhaji Shehu Shagari. History merely played itself out on May 29 when he was equally sworn in as the second executive president after 15 years of protracted military rule. His election of February 27 as president was the climax of the 10 months transition program of General Abdulsalami.
The good thing about the transition program is the endorsement it enjoys from the international community. International observers including the Carter Center led by the former US president Mr. Jimmy Carter played active an role in ensuring that Nigeria starts off on a strong-footing. And there seems to be hope, the new president, General Olusegun Obasanjo on whom the hope for survival is being anchored says no problems:" I understand the clear message of the Nigerian people. In giving me their mandate, they have asked me to lead the country by example. They want me to lead them aright. They want me to restore the dignity of our country. They want me to revitalize our political institution and reinvigorate the economy. They want me to alleviate their poverty and to reduce corruption. They want me to ensure the security of their lives and properties. They want equity in a country they can truly call their own. They want much more. I regard all these expectations as a challenge that the people of Nigeria have thrown at me and those with whom I will work in the next four years. I accept and welcome this challenge ", pledges the president few days after he was declared the World Investment News Ltdr of the February 27, presidential election.
For Obasanjo, the road to grace was through the grass having been enmeshed in the crisis that followed the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, which denied the late M.K.O. Abiola, the acclaimed World Investment News Ltdr, the victory. For daring to criticize the military junta headed by the late dictator, General Sani Abacha, Obasanjo got a bitter share of Nigerian politics through a phantom coup charge which earned him a jail term that was supposed to last his life time.
It is still part of the Nigerian contradictions that he has now found a welcome at the nation's presidential villa, Aso Rock, as its chief occupant, few months after he was granted pardon by another military junta headed by General Abdulsalami Abubakar.
Meanwhile, settling down to savor the pre-requisites of the office of the president of the most populous African nation doesn't look possible yet, because the task before him, putting it mildly, is arduous. He is saddled with the task of cementing the fragile trust that exists between the country's various tribal segments.
Across the country and among the various tribes in Nigeria, there is deep distrust stemming principally from a feeling of marginalization. It is however amazing that the feeling of deprivation and discrimination resides with every tribe in Nigeria. If such feeling is however being expressed by other tribes on the pages of the newspapers, the people of the Niger-Delta on whose land majority of the nation's oil wealth is tapped have overreached their patience with the Nigerian government and for the last one year, the Ijaw, Itsekiri and Urhobo youths have resulted to violence. Not a few lives have been lost to the crisis in the area.
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Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) is at the center of the heat at the Niger-Delta. Several of its oil fields have been closed down due to disruptions by the hosting communities. To douse the hostility, Shell has mounted an elaborate oil Producing Community Development Program. This includes provision of basic amenities and promotion of skill acquisition among youths of the area.
February this year, the company's Youth Training Scheme graduated 169 youths who acquired skill in pomade and cream as well as candle and soap making. Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited is not left out in the community development project along oil producing areas. Also in February, about 94 students benefited from its scholarship scheme. The scholarship is aimed at developing human resources in its area of operation. That appears to be the wise action to take by oil companies and most are, but the anger of the people of the wouldn’t be doused by such. The areas still boil even today. The immediate past administration made frantic efforts to nip the crisis in the bud, but it seems the Niger-Delta people wouldn't budge. And that is already a big headache for Obasanjo. A few days before May 29 when the new government was inaugurated, the Niger-Delta Peace Forum gave the president a 30-day ultimatum starting from the day of inauguration. He is required to commence a 10-year development plan for Niger-Delta within one year in office. What is Obasanjo's agenda for the Niger-Delta?
As part of that, Obasanjo's agenda for the nation would necessarily include rescuing the masses of Nigeria from the stranglehold of poverty, hunger and disease inflicted on them by the worsening economic crisis at home, which are being further helped by the falling world oil price.
The mass of the Nigerian population looks forward to an improvement on all the poverty alleviation measures put up by the past administrations. The community banks would have to be strengthened, while the people's Bank created as a micro-credit institution for the poor would require a more focused policy to be able to make meaningful impact on the lives of the masses.
The institution that has appeared consistent since inspection is the Family Economic Advancement Program FEAP, within three years since it was created the federal government has released about =N=6,755b and the program has disbursed =N=3.3b between September 1998 and May 199. Not a single local government out of the country's 774 councils is left out of the loans system directed at co-operative societies. And as at now 20719 co-operative societies have benefited.
The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) is another institution the new president would need to re-appraise. The directorate in the mid-eighties made some positive impact on the lives of many Nigerians with its labour-absoptive program. The program included vocational skills development, administration of business and entrepreneurial knowledge for enterprises and agricultural activities and promotion of public works using labor-based techniques.
NDE started very well especially in the areas of vocational skill development and small scale enterprises program, but not unlike similar program in Nigeria it soon drifted to slumber and today it only adds up to the numerous funds draining pipes that litter Nigeria public life. |
NIGERIA
