From your nation-village aspirational president: “Today, I just finished a meeting with the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to begin the process to transform Nigeria’s economy, through fiscal federalism. I do believe that if we do this, and accelerate innovation and intra-state competitiveness, our nation will rise. Nations rise on three principles: meritocracy, innovation and decency. I will pursue those principles on the pillar of fiscal federalism, executing the transformation with the fierceness of now, before Nov 2024”.
Yes, it is my believe that fiscal federalism is the core catalyst that will transform Nigeria as I noted in my speech: “As your President, I will institutionalize great moments across homes and communities, uniting all of us to a shared vision of a great nation that is open, dynamic, prosperous and hopeful. From the lagoons of Lagos to the mangrove of Calabar, from the savanna of Yola through the plateau of Jos, to the beautiful forests of Abakaliki, men and women, boys and girls and indeed all citizens will experience an unbounded optimistic future because we will serve.”
Fiscal federalism will bring regional comparative advantages and meritocracy across markets and sectors. Nigeria will win.
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Fiscal federalism will enable a translation of our invention mindset to an innovation one, crystallizing pragmatism and execution. Industrial sectors will rise.
Fiscal federalism will push us towards reduction of wastes and that will help us to kill the demons of corruption. Without decency or honesty, we will fade as a people. Fiscal federalism will bring us to a better path.
Good People, Nigeria’s biggest challenge is not FX challenges, bad roads, lack of electricity, etc, but TRUST scarcity at the center. Many young people are disconnected from the national project because merit has died even as strategic corruption has scaled. One way to get them back is to provide a path where everyone becomes RESPONSIBLE at the local level. Only fiscal federalism will do for a multi-ethnic nation like Nigeria. Build up the banks in Lagos, as I build up the shoe-fashion in Aba, and Okon turns Calabar into a haven of tourism as Benue feeds everyone, with Kano scaling commerce and trade across the Sahel regions of Africa, and more.
What is fiscal federalism? I produce my cocoa, you do your oil, and another her palm oil. We all sell and make money. Then, we pay taxes to Abuja. If I make no sales, I will struggle, but because I know that no one will come at the end of the money, I will get to work. Let’s do it because that is the root cause of why productivity has died in Nigeria!
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Comment 1: “Many young people are disconnected from the national project because merit has died even as strategic corruption has scaled. One way to get them back is to provide a path where everyone becomes RESPONSIBLE at the local level. Only fiscal federalism will do for a multi-ethnic nation like Nigeria.” Yes, such disconnection resonates with the absence of ownership of leadership –largely responsible dearth of accountability. Until people are allowed to take ownership, the gap will continue to widen.
Fiscal federalism is pivotal to both growth and development just as the social contract between the government and the governed cannot be overemphasized.
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Maybe we need to setup a ‘Parody President’, run virtually, where policies are created and simulated, while subjecting them to the same social and political conditions obtainable in the geographic space called Nigeria. Both skyscrapers and aircrafts are first built with computer codes before the physical stuff, why not deploy same on political leadership? It’s possible, you just need to get your datasets right.
The only problem with us is our politics, how to make Nigeria functional and progressive is within the reach of some of us, but we chose to create artificial complexities, and then turn around to constantly yammer that nothing is easy. Of course everything is complicated to the faint-hearted and simpletons, so you cannot expect otherwise.
Can we for a moment give up our worthless egos and unbridled deceits, and allow real talents with immense capabilities and unbounded energy and enthusiasm to take the mantle? Everything is impossible, until someone does it.
We are blind, but keep claiming to be seeing clearly, our healing will not come soon.