Nigeria is wasting time on some of the cost cutting ideas I have been reading lately. Simply, the government is not sincere. How do you expect the citizens to tighten their belts when we’re still expanding wasteful bureaucracy? Yes, we continue to create an illusion of abundance, when we’re shouting that Nigeria has no funds!
In some states, we have a governor who appointed dozens of aides and yet expects workers to tighten their belts. In the federal government, we can now fly presidential jets to watch a polo game, and yet claim that Nigeria is broke. Nonsense!
Nigeria does not need to attend Harvard or LSE to understand a people’s oriented leadership. We have case studies in Mbakwe (Imo State) and Jakande (Lagos State). These men served and people believed them.
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Their authentic leadership and believability helped them to tap into the resources of their citizens to develop their states. Mbakwe raised money for the state budget on radio and tv stations, challenging pupils, students, workers, businesspeople, etc to donate and contribute funds to advance the state. And they responded – and he executed great projects. Jakande and Rimi (Kano State) were also doing great things, through common-sense trusted leadership.
So, here is the summary: the National Assembly, Executives at federal and state levels, etc should cut their salaries, expenses, etc by at least 40% before we can truly believe that Nigeria has no money. Until then, I am not sure many will understand.
Good People, beyond what anyone is telling you about Nigeria, our problem is clear: TRUST SCARCITY. And with that, no one is connected to any grand national mission. That must change if we hope to advance as a nation. Yes, if we return to the playbooks of Mbakwe and some of his peers, the national project becomes possible.
Nigeria does not have a dollar scarcity problem or whatever scarcity you may think. Our challenge today is TRUST scarcity. I had planned to drop my Option #2 on how to fix the forex problem, but after reading comments on the Option #1 on social media, I came to this conclusion: it is beyond US dollar scarcity, the real challenge is TRUST scarcity. And Nigeria needs to focus on that.
Comment on Feed
Comment: The reduction in salaries will likely have minimal impact.
My Response: We’re not talking of the savings. It is about a mindset shift. If the National Assembly shows a mindset of austerity, then NLC, etc will pick the signals. But you cannot buy N200m plus SUV per lawmaker and you ask workers to manage N30k monthly!
Comment 2: How do we find these trusted people
My Response: Elect people who can inspire you – and you can believe.
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Today you are writing like a true son of your father, so no argument or disagreement of any form.
People who think crafting good policies is what makes nations great obviously don’t know about the intangibles, which virtues dominate. How do you talk about trust among people who are allergic to truth? Sounds like oxymoron.
The delusion is that if you you lie continously and forcefully, people might come to believe you, and great things would happen. The big question now becomes, has it ever worked anywhere before? Where have people lied their way to prosperity and greatness?
Every dollar you drop into the economy today, the people will suck it. If you like shout and preach patriotism and buy locally made goods, nobody will listen to you. In Nigeria, the moral character of the speaker or leader has the greatest influence on how the people will respond. Forget about well articulated documents and fine deliveries, if good moral character is absent, you are going nowhere.
The solution to getting it right is simple: make truth fundamental to every engagement and action, and you will witness greatest economic miracle here.
If we like, let’s continue with the lies and deceits, the collapse will continue, except evil is uprooted here.