DEMANDS WE NEED TO START MAKING (Part 1)
Let "them" set an agenda...

In my last post, I tried to emphasize the fact that Tunisians knew they deserved more from their government and they rose to make their demands known. Nigerians on the other hand, even though being far more short-changed by their leaders and politicians (with a poorer quality of life compared to Tunisians) have failed to react to the gross under-performance of government. It is clear that this attitude needs to change and indeed, we need to start making demands of our leaders and would-be leaders. In this following series of articles, I would like to suggest practical demands we can start making from leadership in Nigeria at different levels.

The next few months are going to be full of activity as the political campaigns start since most parties have conducted primaries. Jingles will hit the airwaves, there will be political rallies in different towns and a lot of money will be spent on persuading would-be voters. However, this time, can we DEMAND that our would-be leaders tell us exactly what they want to do? Since my childhood, political manifestos have always seemed too good to be true...implausible and ridiculous even for my gullible mind. The politicians promise health for all, housing for all, free education, constant electricity (I wonder which countries in the world still promice their people electricity during elections? maybe somalia?), potable water for all, peace and prosperity, etc. (...they could as well promise heaven and streets paved with gold for all we care...). Of course when they get into power, they can't achieve any of these because they were not realistic targets; they were more like dreams or hallucinations.

We need the political campaigners to set out in a realistic manner what they intend to do with the given resources and the time span it will take to achieve these targets. Government income figures are available and they can show us how they intend to spend money in the first year of their government as well as subsequent years and the projects they intend to embark on. We don't need open blanket statements like, "I will work on the health sector"; No!!! What we need is specific, realistic, time-bound projects; like, "I will build a kidney transplant centre which will cost such and such within 18 months" or "I will generate 4000MW of electricity at a cost of such and such within 12 months". We want to see REALISTIC PLANS from the campaigners. We need them to tell us specifically what they intend to do for the Niger Delta. SPECIFICALLY. For example, "I will complete the abandoned East-West road to the tune of so and so amount within 12 months using so and so funds". We need them to tell us their strategies. Are they going to raise money from better taxation? The Federal Government revenue is about $30 billion every year depending on crude oil prices. How can they increase this with taxation? especially of the rich who do not pay taxes in Nigeria? What will import duties look like under their government? Defense spending (on the Army, Navy, etc) is a large part of the budget. Will they reduce it? What are they specifically going to do about the police? Are they going to increase funding and training? in which areas? We need specifics.

Unfortunately, elections in Nigeria have usually not been about substance, but about tribalism, sentiment, and emotional baggage. This time however, we have a right to make demands as the electorate. We can't be taken for a ride again. Mallam Nuhu Ribadu is the only candidate who has enunciated clearly his plans in a well written manifesto available online. However, his write up is not specific and he does not tell us how much he thinks the projects he has in mind will cost and how long they will take to be achieved. We need our candidates at all levels - Presidential aspirants, Governorship aspirants and Legislative aspirants to set out an agenda. They should tell us what they intend to do and how they intend to do it. This is necessary so that we can hold them accountable when they get into office. It also helps them to have a sense of direction when they get into government.