Infrastructure development: Now that individuals are richer than government

 

 

 

 

Salisu Suleiman. 

 

By government admission, some of the 150 private jets in Nigeria are used to ferry more than passengers; they are being used to fly huge sums of money out of the country. That, by itself should not be a surprise in the view of lawyer and activist, Femi Falana, who observes that most of the jets are owned by fuel subsidy thieves. Transporting the sum of N2.6 trillion – the amount crudely stolen in the fuel subsidy scam – obviously requires crude methods as well.

 

Those that do not have private jets are forced to travel like mere mortals – though with hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars in their luggage. That the Nigeria Customs Service manages to catch a few of these ‘cash movers’ every now and then is indicative of how widespread the practice probably is. It may be that the amount of money in private hands is beyond the capacity of the Nigerian economy to absorb as investments or more likely, the owners of these funds – due the shady deals that bring about such huge cash – feel safer stashing their loot abroad.

 

Whatever the sources of the billions being shipped out of Nigeria, it is clear that the country is bleeding money that should have been invested in critical sectors of the economy, especially infrastructure development. Indeed, if a single issue can be defined as symptomatic of the general deterioration of living standards in Nigeria today, that factor would be the collapse of critical infrastructure – leaving us with poor roads and bridges, dilapidated schools, severe shortage of electricity, run-down and ill-equipped hospitals, inadequate water supply and huge housing deficits.

 

In no sector is the lack of investment as evident as in power generation where a decade and half after the return of democracy, and despite high expectations, electricity generation capacity remains grossly inadequate – at less than 5,000 megawatts for a country of about 170 million people. The Minister of Power, Chinedu Nebo, put the situation in clearer perspective when he said that Nigeria needed to generate 200,000 megawatts of electricity simply to meet domestic demand. In other words, Africa’s largest oil producer only generates 2.5% of its electricity needs!

 

The usual explanation for this failure is that government does not have the resources to fund the required investments. Of course, it would be closer to the truth to say that the monies released for public works usually end up in private pockets – and ferried out in private jets; which may explain why some Nigerians including more than a few politicians and public servants are becoming richer than the government.

 

However, beyond the corruption that has led to a class of inordinately wealthy Nigerians amidst unacceptable poverty, the fact also remains that this government has been unable, or better, unwilling to source and manage investments in infrastructure development. The lack of activity in these sectors has further worsened the already deplorable levels of poverty and unemployment in the country. And given the worsening insecurity in Nigeria, not many foreign investors would be willing to bring in their money, especially as Nigerians seem to be taking their money the opposite direction.

 

Thus, the onus lies on government to encourage local investments in critical infrastructure to fill the ever-widening gap. It may surprise many Nigerians, but there is actually a government agency set up to bridge the infrastructure gap and grow the process developing public private partnerships. Though the Infrastructure Concession Regularity Commission (ICRC) began operations in 2008, it is yet to neither attain the visibility nor act with the kind of urgency needed to mitigate the country’s infrastructure deficiencies.

 

It is estimated Nigeria needs to invest over $500 billion in critical areas such as rail and road network, water and electricity to be considered a leading global player. But with competing demands from education, agriculture, national security, public services and corruption (yes, it is now a sector) where will these funds come from? This is against the backdrop that the country’s external reserves have continued to dip while the Excess Crude Account funds are shared on the basis of political expediency (how a poverty-ridden country like Nigeria can refer to any money as ‘excess’ is another matter).

 

Nigeria needs infrastructure concession arrangements to improve the availability, quality, and efficiency of power, water, transport and other public services to increase economic growth, productivity, competitiveness, and access to markets. There is also a need to increase the capacity and diversity of the private sector by providing opportunities for local investors and contractors in public infrastructure and encourage efficiency and innovation.

 

Obviously, the demand for basic infrastructure services has grown over the years, quickly outstripping the supply capacity of existing assets. Nigeria’s experience is one where huge infrastructure deficit has greatly constrained economic growth and development, thus inhibiting the country’s ability to improve the quality of life of citizens. But now that so many Nigerians have become richer than government, the issue should be how to ensure that some of the money leaving Nigeria is invested in infrastructure.

1 in 20: The fight for varsity places in Nigeria

 

 

 

Salisu Suleiman.

 

When, about 20 years ago, signboards announcing Heritage University sprang up around Kaduna, many thought the founders were setting the stage for the emergence of private university education in Nigeria, especially in the disadvantaged areas. Today, even the faded remnants of those signboards cannot be found. The much heralded Heritage University never took off.

 

Nigeria’s 170 million people have a grand total of 156 universities, when we should have at least two or three thousand. This explains why only 10% of the 1.7 million candidates that sat for UTME last month will secure admission. Clearly, there is a huge gap between the number of candidates and available spaces – a gap that government is unable or unwilling to close.

 

In the southern states, private groups and individuals took on the challenge by establishing private universities, many of which have produced several batches of graduates. But in the already educationally disadvantaged north, the groups and individuals with the financial and political muscle to establish or support the growth of private universities are, as usual, “missing in action”.

 

Of Nigeria’s 156 universities, 51 are private, but only 10 are in the north. If those allied to religious or special interest groups are removed, American University of Nigeria, Yola, and Baze University, Abuja, may emerge as the only northern owned and accredited private universities.

 

To put the situation in proper perspective, Kano state, with its population of over 10 million people, has no private university; indeed, the entire North-west zone, comprising Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, Kaduna, Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara, with a population of about 40 million people, does not have a single private university. While there may be concerns that given the high cost of private education and the inadequacy of qualified teaching staff, if it would be rational to establish more private universities in Nigeria; the answer is yes.

 

True, few families can afford private universities, but they have many advantages; the cost of training students abroad is very high – reaching upwards of millions of naira per student per annum – monies that could create jobs and stimulate economic growth. Also, many families have found to their cost that sending children to schools abroad may not necessarily produce the better students in terms of qualification or moral development – many students sent abroad ended up victims of alcoholism or drug addiction. Having private universities here will help parents monitor their children’s development in person, not through vague progress reports from foreign schools.

 

Currently, the 10 private universities in the north are: Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin, founded in 2005; African University of Science and Technology, Abuja (2007); American University of Nigeria, Yola (2003); Baze University, Abuja (2011); Bingham University, New Karu, Nasarawa state (2005); Katsina University, Katsina (2005); Nigerian-Turkish Nile University (2009); Salem University, Lokoja (2007); University of Mkar, Benue state (2005) and Wukari Jubilee University, Wukari, Taraba state (2005).

 

At the moment, countries like Ghana, South Africa, Malaysia, India, Cyprus, UK and the US are draining Nigeria of hundreds of billions of naira per annum from Nigerian students studying there. According to the U.S. Embassy Educational Advising Center, Nigeria sends more students to the United States than any other country in sub-Saharan Africa, with over 6,500 students studying at over 733 institutions. There are 71,000 Nigerian students in Ghana, costing Nigeria N160 billion; the federal government spent more than N900 million to sponsor 150 students abroad in 2011, nearly 10 per cent of the 14.14 billion allocated to Nigerian universities.

 

In the same year, there were 17,585 Nigerians studying in UK universities. A report in 2010 shows that Nigeria fuels the UK education sector to the tune of N246 billion; over 60 per cent of the 2012 education allocation. It is estimated that by 2015, there will be about 30,000 Nigerian students in the UK – about seven per cent of the total UK university population.

 

Given that the costs of private universities may be beyond many, there are alternatives to private universities in the form of community colleges. A community college is a public institution of higher education and is characterized by a two-year curriculum that leads to either a bachelor’s degree or prepares students to transfer to a regular degree programme. The transfer programme parallels the first two years of a four-year degree programme while degree programme generally prepares students for direct entrance into an occupation.

 

Community colleges usually have low tuition, are established locally and have relatively easy entrance requirements. If we are to give hope and a sense of belonging to the millions of youth across Nigeria that currently lack education, no real-life skills and no job prospects, every senatorial zone should strive to establish a community college, paid for from public and private resources.

 

As for the ‘big’ men, granted, not all of them can establish private universities, but those with the means should support existing ones by creating educational endowments or initiating scholarship schemes to help bright but indigent students to attend the few existing private universities, while also exploring ways of creating and supporting community colleges. Nigeria cannot afford to lose another generation of young people.

Where is Ibrahim Babangida?

 

 

 

 

 

Salisu Suleiman.

 

Over 30 years after leaving office, former US president Jimmy Carter remains one of the most visible and respected international figures. By contrast, George W. Bush, who left office just four years ago, remains generally hidden from the public. While President Barack Obama called on former president Bill Clinton to help him campaign, neither John McCain nor Mitt Romney called on Bush. If anything, they both made concerted efforts to avoid the highly unpopular president credited with taking America to unnecessary wars and nearly crippling the world’s largest economy.

 

One thing that struck observers during the recent burial of former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, was how sharply she still divided opinion more than 20 years after leaving office. Naturally, there were perfunctory remarks about how great a leader she was and how she transformed Britain, but many others thought otherwise and said so publicly, singing and dancing at the demise of the ‘Iron Lady’ whose policies they believed crushed the poor and destroyed the British industrial base while making a few people very wealthy.

 

The legacies of some leaders are only recognised and acknowledged long after their deaths, but their visibility after leaving office clearly depends on their conduct while in power. In Nigeria, former leaders Yakubu Gowon, Shehu Shagari, Muhammadu Buhari and Abdulsalami Abubakar continue to play public roles and retain varying degrees of respect; Olusegun Obasanjo, ever garrulous, has forced himself to remain in public space, if in largely negative light; but right in the middle of these former leaders is Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, who has no known public role despite the huge challenges facing Nigeria.

 

Where is IBB?

 

Few Nigerian leaders have wielded as much power and influence as Babangida did during the eight years he held sway as military president. There was a time he dissolved the highest authority in the land, the Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC), and held fort virtually alone. Once, for an entire month, he was away in France for medical treatment without a whimper from any quarters. Those were heady days for the General.

 

Even after his somewhat hasty departure from the Villa one hot afternoon in 1993, it was clear that he had his eyes on a comeback to power. For many years after leaving office, his Minna hilltop mansion was a beehive of ceaseless activity and a political mecca of sorts. He had a hand in the emergence of Gen Abubakar as head of state after the demise of Gen Abacha, and against the advice of many, was instrumental in the decision to ‘drag’ the not-so-unwilling Obasanjo into the presidential race in 1998-99.

 

But IBB’s systematic deconstruction began with his politically fatal choice to champion Obasanjo’s return to the presidency. One of the most interesting coincidences of history is that the courage of then Colonel Babangida helped abort the Dimka coup attempt and make Obasanjo head of state in 1976. In 1999, Babangida also helped Obasanjo return to office as president. That IBB himself wanted to return to office in 2003 after a 10-year hiatus was never in doubt. That he saw 2007 as another opportunity was never in question. The irony is that Obasanjo, twice helped into office by IBB, twice prevented the latter from taking over the same office in 2003 and 2007.

 

Realising that 2011 was his last chance, Babangida jumped into the political fray, but was promptly tricked into giving up any chance he might have had by the Adamu Ciroma led group. Perhaps, it was his face-saver, considering the shenanigans that plagued the PDP primaries that saw Goodluck Jonathan defeat Atiku Abubakar.

 

Whatever the outcome might have been, it was clear that IBB’s last chance was gone. Overnight, his hilltop mansion became ghostly; political opportunists who saw him as a veritable ticket to office rapidly disappeared; the route to power no longer had a detour in Minna.

What is the one outstanding thing that IBB would be remembered for?

 

Historically, the IBB regime will always be overshadowed by his annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential elections. After a very long and tortuous transition to democracy, to then annul the results of that election remains his greatest undoing. The country had overwhelmingly elected a Muslim-Muslim ticket without considering religion or ethnicity. To then dump that defining moment in the dustbin of history and return Nigeria to the age of religious and ethnic politics was a blow from which we are yet to recover.

 

Today IBB is a glorified presence in weddings, funerals and other social events. The adoring crowds are gone, the political acolytes on the run and his influence largely threadbare.

 

And in a classic twist of providence, the same fate that befell IBB has befallen his greatest traducer, Obasanjo: both retired Generals have become glorified invitees at minor social events. Both are licking largely self-inflicted wounds from battles they had no reason to fight. And both men, while still alive, know that history will probably not be kind to them.

Faded end of Soludo’s polymer economics

 

 

 

 

 

Salisu Suleiman.

 

If you have ever listened to Professor Chukwuma Soludo bring abstract economic concepts to life with PowerPoint slides extravagantly peppered with charts and projections, you’d understand how he managed to get himself appointed Chief Economic Adviser to former President Obasanjo, and later governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

 

Those who knew him cautioned that beneath his stylish swagger lay the fundamental insincerity of a used-car salesman, but Soludo’s intellect and poise swayed even skeptics. One report claims that once while briefing Obasanjo on Nigeria’s economic prospects, the former president instinctively began to applaud – so persuasive was Soludo.

 

As soon as he was appointed CBN governor, Soludo embarked on ‘reform’ of the banking sector and also came up with the idea of polymer notes to replace paper under the guise that polymer was more durable. Despite objections from those who argued that polymer had only been used in a few instances with mixed results, Soludo awarded contract for the production of polymer notes to replace the 50, 20, 10 and 5 naira notes.

 

However, just last week, the CBN revealed plans to replace polymer notes with paper. What needs to be discussed is whether Soludo awarded the contract to save Nigeria money, or if it was to line his own pockets, as allegations of draft have trailed the contract. Even the lame duck Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) interrogated Soludo in January this year following allegations of breach of contract and bribery by Securency, the Australian company that produced the polymer notes.

 

Meanwhile, the linchpin of Soludo’s policies – the banking sector consolidation – ended in a debacle. His position was that no Nigerian bank was reflected in the top 1,000 banks in the world, and that our banks needed to merge or increase their paid-up capital to a minimum of N25 billion or $200 million. Whatever the merits of the policy, its implementation probably played a part in the near collapse of Nigeria’s financial sector. Even if the policy was well-intentioned, Soludo seemingly turned a blind eye to unethical banking practices.

 

In the end, only about a third of the 20 banks that emerged post-consolidation survived without state handouts. Obviously, the allure of controlling the consolidated assets proved too much for some top bankers who embarked on unprecedented looting sprees: the former managing director of defunct Oceanic Bank, Cecelia Ibru, was convicted of stealing N191 billion from the bank; Intercontinental Bank’s Erastus Akingbola probably has better lawyers because the case of the N164 billion he allegedly stole from the bank is still in court, while that of Francis Atuche, who allegedly stole N16 billion from Bank PHB, remains unresolved. Many of the young and middle level banking staff that lost their jobs are still job-hunting.

 

It probably cost Nigerians about N2 trillion to rescue the banks, but Soludo, whose job was to supervise them, was never indicted for this negligence. He was so impervious that when the stock market was beginning to spiral out of control in 2008, he assured Nigerians that there was no cause for alarm; with the global economic crisis growing, Soludo again assured that Nigeria would withstand the shock and when experts raised concerns about the health of Nigerian banks, Soludo said his consolidation of the banks was working perfectly and that the banks were solid.

 

Soon, it became clear that Soludo was sitting on a pile of fools’ gold, but even as the turmoil in the banking sector was unraveling, the CBN governor was pursuing another idea – the decimalization of the naira. The proposal would have knocked off zeros from the naira to help manage inflation, stabilize the naira and enhance its exchangeability. Thankfully, the CBN gave up the idea following widespread criticism.

 

Considering the less than stellar results of Soludo’s other policies, it is not inconceivable that had the decimalization misadventure gone ahead, the naira might have become as useless as used ‘pure’water bags and just as irksome. The decision by the Yar’adua administration not to reappoint Soludo turned out to be one of its most constructive, because even Sanusi Lamido’s detractors now admit that he managed to halt the rot in banks.

 

As soon as he got the boot, Soludo jumped fully into politics – this was familiar ground; in pursuit of Obasanjo’s third term bid and that failing, the 2007 presidential elections, some allege that Soludo, as CBN governor, minted and handed over N50 billion to the PDP in return for the VP slot. Whatever the probability of that claim, his Anambra governorship ambition which was brokered by Tony Anenih ended ignominiously.

 

True, President Jonathan’s economic policies (if there are any) have worsened things for Nigerians, but looking at the comatose state of the Nigerian stock market, near collapse of some post ‘consoludated’ banks and now, the CBN’s decision to replace the polymer notes which cost Nigeria billions, it is clear that Soludo’s economics were hardly better than the polymer notes he forced on Nigeria; smooth, suave, salient but ultimately, short of substance.

Boko Haram: Now that everyone’s beard is on fire

 

 

 

 

 

 

Salisu Suleiman.

 

It is said that when you notice a neighbour’s beard on fire, sprinkle water on yours; in other words, when you detect trouble from afar, try to resolve it even if it doesn’t affect you directly, because left to spread, it may engulf everyone.

 

When reports of disturbances between an obscure sect and the police first came to light a few years ago, northern elders turned a blind eye; it was someone else’s beard on fire, not theirs. When the clashes grew more violent and the name of the sect surfaced, they still paid no heed, though the fire was spreading. And when the confrontation became a virtual war, they kept mute when government ordered the sect to be ‘crushed’.

 

The security forces went in with a sledgehammer, killing and destroying indiscriminately. Grenades, mortar and artillery were reportedly used to pulverize even residential areas. The leaders of the sect were caught and executed in cold blood. The air in Maiduguri and its environs had the stench of decomposing bodies for weeks.

 

What the ‘elders’ didn’t realise was that the fire had spread beyond beards or even villages; the entire land was ablaze. But because only the poor and powerless were dying, the northern establishment did not intervene. So the fire spread from Borno and Yobe to Bauchi, Gombe, Kano, Kaduna, Adamawa, Niger and the FCT. Soon, the targets were no longer just security operatives; anyone and everyone was fair game.

 

Today, that obscure sect has grown to become one of the most violent terrorist groups in Africa. We call them Boko Haram. Initially, they simply wanted to live on the fringes of society to practice their peculiar interpretation of Islam, however warped. The transformation began when their leaders were executed in cold blood, prompting revenge attacks on security agents. When neither the government nor ‘elders’ acted responsibly, the group progressed to indiscriminate killings and bombings.

 

In other words, the fire of Boko Haram is now burning everyone. Which explains why, after years of inactivity bordering on imperious contempt, a group of ‘elders’ from the north finally realized that their beards, too, was on fire. Perhaps, it was the Emir of Kano’s close shave with death that sent a clear message, though before him, at least two other emirs had narrowly escaped death at the hands of terrorists who have no comprehension of the concept of collateral damage.

 

Having to failed to sprinkle water on their beards when that of the poor masses were on fire, the northern elders are now responding in panic; not only are they sprinkling water on their beards, they are jumping into the well. Yes, jumping into the well, more than anything else, describes the too little, too late reaction by the northern elders to the crises that has killed thousands of people in the last four years.

 

Do they even understand the import of amnesty, or the terms under which amnesties can be granted? How can you offer amnesty to someone who has a gun to you head? Expectedly, the group’s leader, Abubakar Shakau retorted, “Boko Haram has not committed any wrong to deserve amnesty. Surprisingly, the Nigerian government is talking about granting us amnesty. What wrong have we done? On the contrary, it is we that should grant you (government) pardon”.

 

How can there be talk of amnesty without negotiations or even a ceasefire? The appeal and subsequent offer of amnesty to Boko Haram was a panic reaction and a wrong approach to a long-festering problem. In essence, it is an attempt to sidestep the fundamental issues of poverty, exploitation, mismanagement and injustice by northern political leadership that watered the ground for the rise of Boko Haram.

 

To compound matters, the 26 member amnesty panel announced by Jonathan is akin to sending the wrong emissaries with the wrong message at the wrong time and for the wrong reasons: the violence we see today is a reaction to decades poverty, inequality, illiteracy and hopelessness among large swathes of the North’s population – problems that were created and nurtured by the same elders now clamoring for amnesty. It is instructive that the two persons known to have had direct contact with Boko Haram – Shehu Sani and Datti Ahmed declined to serve on the panel.

 

That Jonathan even accepted the amnesty idea shows he is yet to understand the socio-economic dynamics of northern Nigeria, unless the crisis is serving his not-so-hidden reelection agenda. If he wasn’t doing the same thing to Nigerians, he would have told the elders: “Stop looting public funds, stop rigging elections to impose unpopular leaders, run transparent governments, do not deny ordinary folks justice, stop using religion to defraud your people, end endemic corruption, poverty and inequality ….”

 

Ultimately, whether we accept it or not, and whether the group even realises it or not, Boko Haram is not about Islamizing Nigeria, nor even about Islam: The activities of a few thousand hopelessly brainwashed young men do not define Nigeria’s tens of millions of Muslims. But then, that is what happens if you pretend not to notice when your neighbors beard is on fire.

IG: Are tinted glasses your real problem?

By: Salisu Suleiman.

 

“All glass fitted to a vehicle shall be clear and transparent to enable persons outside the vehicle to see whoever is inside the vehicle and the glass shall in no way be tinted except as may be approved by the Inspector-General of Police for security reasons”, – Section 66(2) of the National Road Traffic Regulations (1997)

In carrying out this regulation, many travellers driving in and out of Makurdi, the Benue state capital, were on Thursday, April 4, subjected to several hours of official terror. The disused toll gate plaza was taken over by policemen who, under the pretext of enforcing the restrictions on ‘tinted’ vehicle glasses, detained all drivers and passengers of vehicles that had privacy glasses.

 

According to a victim who was traveling from Abuja, they were detained for nearly six hours, though their experience was not as bad as those of some travellers heading towards Lafia and Abuja who were detained for even longer. By nightfall, some cars that had been on their way to Abuja since early in the morning were still at Makurdi. In the end, it became a matter of bargain; up to N7, 000 was reportedly paid by desperate travellers.

 

Last week, motorists in other parts of Nigeria, including Abuja, also ran into this police ambush. As early as 8am, police officers had stationed themselves at strategic points along major roads, especially at roundabouts and junctions where cars would slow down. At practically every location, they detained many cars for hours, disregarding even the plight of young children.

 

The Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, who gave the order, may be within his rights to do so, but compared to the monumental challenges facing the Nigerian police and even bigger problems of security facing the country, the policy of on-the-spot arrest of drivers of vehicles with privacy glasses is not only misplaced, misguided and mistimed, but also gives the impression that the Nigeria police have nothing serious to do.

 

 

 

Considered from every angle, tinted glasses should be a priority: The decomposing bodies of 11 policemen killed in Bayelsa state were recovered last week. What the IG did not tell Nigerians is that the murdered officers were part of a 50-man team deployed from the police command headquarters in Yenagoa to escort some politically connected individuals to the burial of the deceased mother of Kile Torughedi, an ex-militant leader and now a special assistant to Governor Seriake Dickson on maritime security. Is that not a more serious issue than tinted glasses?

 

A week before, about 721 policemen and their families residing in the barracks at the Central Police Station, Onitsha, were rendered homeless following the demolition of their buildings and shops by the Anambra State Police Command. One of the victims, an Inspector, was reported as saying he had been living in the barracks for the past 21 years and had never defaulted on paying rent to the police authorities. In his words, “to just wake up and kick us out of our homes is an act of wickedness.”

 

Incidentally, on the issue of police welfare, what has the IG done to recover the over N30 billion stolen from the police pension funds? Surely, there must be legal ways to reclaim the staggering amount of money that was looted by the former director of police pensions who has been convicted for the crime. The welfare of serving and retired police officers all over Nigeria should be a more weighty issue than merely driving a car with darkened glasses.

 

Still on officers’ welfare, reports show that policemen on special duty are also complaining. For instance, some policemen recently deployed to Kano from MOPOL 4 Command, Ibadan, to combat the activities of Boko Haram allege that they had been without food and water for nearly two weeks due to delay in payment of allowances. One of them said, “We are not so sure who should be responsible for our welfare”. Disgruntled officers represent more serious security threats to Nigeria than tinted glasses.

 

It is not a secret that the Nigerian police remain one of the most distrusted public institutions in the country. It will be a tough ask to find any Nigerian (including serving and retired police officers!) who do not have troubling accounts to tell about the force. The withdrawal of policemen from checkpoints all over Nigeria was a welcome relief. Now, with this new directive on tinted glasses, the cat and mouse relationship between Nigerians and police has been renewed and stories of exhortation are coming out. Are there no better ways of utilizing police officers or building public confidence?

 

All told, considering the very grave security challenges facing Nigeria, a six-month public enlightenment campaign to sensitize owners of cars with tinted glasses and give them time to obtain the relevant permits would make much better sense. The order to detain citizens who simply happen to be driving cars they bought that way is a detraction from the real security issues and is akin to the return of roadblocks.

Rural areas, urban problems

By Salisu Suleiman.

 

At exactly three o’clock in the morning, a locally assembled generator rumbled into life, spewing thick, noxious fumes into the air and jarring everyone within range wide awake. A few minutes later, the mechanical sounds of an engine could be heard in the growing din: the local ‘pure water’ factory was cranking into life to begin that day’s production.

 

Any thoughts of sleeping through the racket is immediately put to bed when a scratchy loudspeaker croaks into life and the taped sermon of an unknown cleric is played at high volume until the call to Morning Prayer. Loud as the speaker already was, the muezzin still used every bit of air in his lungs to scream into the microphone. At the end, rather an innate desire to heed the call, the fierce effort leaves many jumpy and irritable. It is just five o’clock in the morning.

 

Comparing mechanical blast to that of the former muezzin whose melodious voice rolled down every alley in the community without a loudspeaker is of no use because several high-pitched, wailing motorcycles are already choking into life as the commercial motorcycle business, banned from several cities is finding new applications in rural areas. The cacophony is violent and emissions from the engine oil-mixed with petrol engines, toxic.

 

Soon after the morning prayers, instead of a quite hour or so before sunrise, hawkers of all kinds of assorted foods and other sundry items begin to advertise their wares with a ferocity that would leave even major global brands aghast. No home, no room and no eardrum is safe from the insistent cry of young girls selling bean cakes, corn gruel, millet drinks, ‘pure water’ and every kind of edible item that can be bought and sold.

 

With all chances of getting any kind of rest long gone, embarking on the routine of exchanging greetings with family and friends is no consolation because most of them have already left home to begin the day’s hustling. Then news of the previous night’s gruesome attacks filter in from several sources: a local trader had been lured from his home with a business proposal and hacked to death in a nasty machete attack then left to die on a farm; also an armed robbery attack on a highway had left several others critically injured with different kinds of wounds.

 

After a meal that had as many processed portions as any obtainable in any city, a walk around homes and public spaces revealed that nowhere is immune from the twin disasters of open defecation and the ubiquity of used ‘pure water’ bags. The smell from the former and the eyesore from the latter are sufficient to leave even the most indifferent repulsed and revolted.

 

 

 

 

In the midst of all these, life seems to continue as usual.

 

One may be excused to think that he or she had woken up in a grimy slum on the outskirts of any of Nigeria’s major towns or cities which have no facilities that can classify them as urban, but are too noisy and polluted to be termed rural, and whose residents, if anything, would take offense at being called rustics.

 

Actually, the above scenes were my impressions during a visit to a community that is dozens of miles from the nearest city. It was a jarring introduction to a new phenomenon in Nigeria’s distorted development process, where our urban areas are mere population centres without amenities, while our rural areas have assimilated all the drawbacks of city life without any of the benefits: In the said settlement, there is no modern hospital; schools are very basic; the only tarred road is the ancient potholed motorway that leads in and out; most houses are mud and thatch structures and electricity is weak and epileptic.

 

The problem, which is largely replicated all over Nigeria is: many rural areas, without any of the benefits one would expect with city life like modern houses, good roads, stable power supply, standard education systems, well–equipped hospitals, potable water supply schemes – and all other conveniences associated with urban life – are assimilating all the negative traits related with urban conurbations. In the said settlement, noise pollution, environmental degradation, crime and other problems seem just as rife among people already emasculated by poverty and the absence of basic infrastructure.

 

Nigeria’s current population is put at 170 million, and according to the latest revisions in the study, ‘World Urbanisation Prospects’ issued by the United Nations, the country will see the fastest urban population growth in the next 40 years, with its cities expected to add 200 million people, and a total population of about 370 million. With this rapidly expanding population and fast evolving social and economic dynamics, the need for government to appreciate the sociological undercurrents of our negatively ‘urbanized’ rural areas is critical.

 

The posers for government are: Do we ‘urbanise’ rural areas, or develop urban areas to accommodate rural-urban migration? How do we improve the quality of life, security and plan development projects while avoiding the ills of poorly planned urbanization? How do we protect our environment?