• The oil sector including the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is well known as the epicenter of waste, abuses and corruption. The new administration must embark on a thorough house cleaning to bring some sanity to this sector. How can a major oil producer like Nigeria continue to import petrol for domestic use? Blame this on the very powerful cartel that is benefitting from the importation of petrol. It should be noted that during General Buhari’s tenure as Petroleum Minister, he ensured that all the refineries in Nigeria were operational and we did not have to import petrol at that time. The federal government is losing billions of naira everyday due to the criminal activities of the oil cartel. Regrettably, the outgoing president turned blind eyes to the corruption in this sector and others while looters had a field day during his tenure. And with a legislature in Abuja that is absolutely clueless about its constitutional role in a democracy, the new president must find a way to vigorously push through his agenda. The Federal Government should fix all the refineries and put an end to the importation of gasoline. It must develop the will to break the back of the cartel that is benefiting from the importation of gasoline and other petroleum products. This will save the country billions of naira that could be used for various projects such as revamping the ailing electrical infrastructure, making massive road construction and repairs, improve the transportation infrastructure, water purification and others. These projects will invariably spur the economy; create employment while addressing the issue of youth unemployment.

•    The federal government should rain in the cartel that is benefitting from the importation of electric generators into the country. This cartel has also been responsible for sabotaging government efforts to rehabilitate the electricity sector.

• Since corruption remains a cancer that is eating away at the destiny of Nigeria and robbing it of its potential to be a great nation, the new administration should initiate the revamping of the EFCC and appoint someone with a pedigree similar to that of General Buhari as Chairman. The revamped EFCC must go after all looters in the public and private sector. For example, all those governors in states where salaries of civil servants have not been paid for months and yet own properties in Europe and North America should be subpoenaed to account for the source of their wealth.

• The President working with the National Assembly should introduce a safety net program or social insurance program that would provide a stipend for the millions of students who graduate from Nigerian Universities and Polytechnics and remain unemployed years after completing their National Youth Service. This should also apply to other unemployed youths. This has the potential of reducing criminal activities in which the youths are driven to out of desperation.

• The Federal government can also create micro lending institutions around the country. These institutions would be created to provide small loans to potential entrepreneurs. For example, loans can be given to people looking to start a small business; it could give loans to people interested in buying motorcycle to be used as “okada” or tricycle known as “maruwa” both of which are modes of public transportation used to augment the grossly inadequate public transportation system in the country. Loans can also be given to university or polytechnic graduates with backgrounds in computer technology who are interested in going into the ever expanding telecommunications industry and the growing social media platforms in Nigeria. This will spur entrepreneurship while also addressing the issue of youth unemployment.

• The new administration should institute some sort of a truth and reconciliation commission or a “stolen funds return program.” This program could be run by the EFCC. The goal will be to encourage looters to return some of the stolen funds in their possession or risk prosecution for corruption. Such a program should be operated behind closed doors in order to protect the privacy of the looters and also to protect them from harm by irate citizens. This will encourage looters to come forward knowing they will not be exposed.

A significant disqualifier for president GEJ’s bid for reelection is in the government’s failure to rain in Boko Haram. Boko Haram has become stronger, more daring and vicious in his campaign of mayhem against civilians in Northern Nigeria under the watch of president of GEJ.  Boko Haram is now deploying suicide bombers as foot soldiers something foreign to Nigeria. Suicide bombers are most often used by hard core terrorist groups like the Taliban in Afghanistan and by groups like the Islamic State , (ISIS), Al Queda  and Al-Shabaab in East Africa. This is what Nigeria has been reduced to. Boko Haram is now deploying female suicide bombers to kill and maim innocent civilians. What is so scary about this is that the Nigerian government is absolutely helpless and incapable of stopping Boko Haram. How can a government that cannot assure the lives and safety of it’s’ people be given another chance to govern the citizens it had failed to protect? It’s an outrage!  There is a huge security vacuum in North Eastern Nigeria which Boko Haram has virtually taken over.  It operates at will. It’s unbelievable! It’s like the Nigeria military do not exist in these parts as Boko Haram continues to expand its sphere of influence and perpetuating its campaign of terror. It has become apparent that the Nigerian government cannot defeat Boko Haram. The Nigerian military is no match for Boko Haram and soldiers would continue to be slaughtered by this terrorist group unless the Nigerian government comes to the realization that it is fighting a losing battle. This government must immediately begin mediation efforts with the leadership of this group in order to resolve this problem. Mediation efforts should include offering amnesty to some members of the group with less blood on their hands after the release of the Chibok girls. The government should also offer job training, educational and employment opportunities to the members.  There is a general sense of insecurity in the country which the government is yet to fully appreciate and address.

This brings to mind the recent ouster of the civilian dictator Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso who was chased out of office in a popular uprising led by young men after 27 years in office. As is customary amongst dictators on the African continent, he attempted to amend the constitution to extend his 27 year-term in office but the people of Burkina Faso said “enough.” He is now in exile in a neighboring country.  When would the people of Nigeria say “enough” with putting up with their inept and corrupt leaders? Blaise Compaore was chased out of office by young men who stared down soldiers pointing guns at them. Talk about courage! When would the people of Nigeria develop some spine to stare down the incompetent and failed leaders that have held a strangle hold over their lives? President GEJ does not deserve another term in office. During the early days of the Chibok kidnapping, a commentator on American media stated while discussing this tragedy that “a government that cannot protect its’ most vulnerable population, the children, has lost its’ legitimacy to rule that country. The GEJ administration has lost its legitimacy to rule Nigeria for another 4 years. The opposition needs to develop some spine and put up a formidable fight to defeat this administration…an administration that does not inspire confidence and has zero credibility amongst Nigerians. We are counting on the opposition to send them packing. Enough is enough!

Following the news of the abduction of these students last week on BBC, CNN and various local and international new media, one was just consumed with rage about the lack of response on the part of the Nigerian government. What kind of country is this? Listening to BBC on the radio last week, reporter Nkem Ifejika spoke to two women from Chibok who had travelled to Abuja to take part in the demonstration calling on the Nigerian government to act on the unfolding tragedy. One of the ladies made an insightful statement saying “people say the north is backward in education especially for the girl child, this incident will create more fear and more girls will not go to school” as a result of this abduction and government inaction. Watching the demonstration in Abuja on BBC, one of the demonstrators interviewed said “this is a big example that this government does not represent us” referring to government’s inaction and silence in this matter. Another commentator on American media stated while discussing this tragedy that “a government that cannot protect its’ most vulnerable population, the children, has lost its’ legitimacy to rule that country. These are palpable sentiments over the government’s inaction to mobilize the security forces to rescue these girls. Watching the demonstration in Abuja on television and seeing the faces of the crying mothers, parents and women in general was just heart breaking. How can a government not be moved by these agonizing images? Where is the National Assembly, the country’s legislature in all of this? Like American politicians will say, this is a do nothing legislature.

This raises the question, how did we get here? How did we end up with GEJ as president of Nigeria?  Well, we can lay the blame at the door step of former President OBJ. He was reported to have hand- picked GEJ to join the late President Umaru Yar’Adua  as his running mate during the 2006/2007 presidential campaign after he was soundly defeated by the National Assembly in his bid to run for a third term. He did not hand-pick GEJ for his intellect, political acumen and ability to make a difference. He hand-picked this man in order to further his selfish and mischievous aims. While western politicians like the late Senator Edward Kennedy make sacrifices to groom potential future leaders like Barack Obama for the good of their country, the opposite is true for Nigerian leaders. This is how we ended up with the status quo.

Where is the search and rescue effort on the part of the Nigerian armed forces? There are reports that it’s’ the local hunters and men in the Chibok area that have volunteered to go in the bushes to search for the girls. The other issue is that the Nigerian armed forces are no match for Boko Haram. It is no secret that Boko Haram is receiving support from a segment of the northern elite and from Al Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb. They are armed to the teeth with very sophisticated weapons similar to those one might find American soldiers using. It’s like taking a dagger to a fight when your opponent has an AK-47. It’s a “no brainer” who is going to win this fight. This is the sad fate of the Nigerian soldiers. These soldiers do not want to die for a country that does not value their lives. Who can blame them? Going by the Nigerian culture where men tend to be the bread winner in families, the death of a soldier could potentially leave the wife and children destitute due to lack of adequate compensation to the family of the fallen soldier by the Nigerian government.  In a country where the elderly and senior citizens who gave their sweats, tears and blood working for the government are living in abject poverty, deprived of their pensions due to corruption, who can expect anything better from the government?

It has become apparent that the Nigerian government is unable to defeat Boko Haram. This terrorist group appears to be getting stronger. The Nigerian government must immediately seek foreign assistance from countries that have more experience in dealing with local insurgencies and terrorist groups like the British, Spain, Israel, Ireland and the US amongst others. When you are dealing with an opponent whose foot soldiers are not afraid to die, you must change your strategy and tactics. The more you kill, the more they grow. This is the only way to defeat Boko Haram. The current strategy has been a huge failure. In American cultural parlance it is often said that a sign of insanity is to keep applying the same failed solution to a problem and expecting a different outcome. The Nigerian government must swallow it’s pride and seek foreign assistance immediately.

The reverse is the case in Nigeria where medical tourism has become a cultural phenomenon as Nigerian leaders and members of the elite class are well known for going overseas for routine medical care. For decades Nigerian leaders and elite have complained about the poor quality of Nigerian hospitals and have used this excuse as justification for travelling overseas for medical care.  What is baffling is; when would it occur to these leaders that it is their responsibility to fix the ailing medical infrastructure in Nigeria? Who else is supposed to fix this problem? And to the elite class, has it ever occurred to these people that they could invest a portion of their vast financial wealth in building first class medical centers in Nigeria which would yield good dividend for their investment. They could receive medical care in these facilities and as a result, the money stays in Nigeria. In a country with huge unemployment, investing in first class medical facilities would create jobs for Nigerians in the healthcare field and other ancillary professionals. This endeavor could also create employment for people in feeder industries such as food vendors, companies that supply uniforms, durable medical equipments, medical instrumentation and companies that supply other items that would be needed to keep a hospital running. In addition, this could create jobs for people in the construction industry who would be expected to build these medical facilities. An added benefit could be the reversal of the brain drain amongst Nigerian doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals who seek greener pastures overseas due in large part to the appalling state of the healthcare infrastructure in Nigeria.

There is a saying in American socio-cultural parlance that a sign of mental illness is when someone applies a failed solution to the same problem over and over and expects a different outcome.  Realizing that Nigeria is the land of untapped opportunities and considering the influx of the Nigerian elite coming to their country for medical care, it was reported that a group of Indian investors have exported their services to Nigeria. They have built a first class state of the art medical center in Abuja where the only currency they accept for payment is the US dollar and they are thriving according to a relative who is familiar with the facility.  This reflects an embarrassing lack of vision on the part of Nigerian leaders and elite. While India was developing and making advances in information and bio-medical technologies, our leaders were busy looting and further under developing the country.  Now India has become a hot spot for medical tourism while Nigeria remains the laughing stock amongst developing countries especially on the African continent due to decades of misrule, waist and lost opportunities.

Rather than travelling to countries like Germany, the United Kingdom, India, South Africa and Saudi Arabia amongst others for medical care and spending hard currency which helps to beef up the economies of these countries, these funds would be better spent in Nigeria where the need is much greater.  In a country where Stella Obasanjo the wife of a former President died in a Spanish hospital reportedly while undergoing treatment for a cosmetic procedure when her husband was the sitting president.  In a country where the late president Umaru Musa Yar’Adua spent months in a Saudi hospital receiving treatment before he returned to Nigeria and later passed away. In a country where the wife of the current president Patience Jonathan was reported to have recently received medical treatment in Germany, when will it occur to these leaders that it is embarrassing for them to keep travelling overseas for medical care when Nigeria has the wealth and wherewithal to do what the Indian investors have done in Abuja? Why are Nigerian leaders and elite so shameless? How is it possible that India, a developing country like Nigeria in 1999 has made such phenomenal progress that it had the clout to join Brazil, China, Russia and South Africa to form the BRICS block of nations? The BRICS are a force to be reckoned with in the international community and at the United Nations. This is because the leaders and elite in India are visionaries. It is no secret that the Indians played a significant role in the development of Silicon Valley in California. They have also benefitted immensely from outsourcing, which is a phenomenon in which American companies ship jobs to India in search of cheap labor and to maximize profits. This is due in part to India’s reputation for being an information technology power house. The next time you call your bank to dispute a credit card transaction, you can expect to speak to a customer service rep in India. That is what outsourcing looks like. What is sad about all of this is that Nigerians have the potential to rival what the Indians have achieved. Unfortunately, Nigerian leaders and governments often lack the vision to mobilize and leverage our potentials, a lesson the Indians have learned very well.

While the Arewa Consultative Forum should be commended for pledging to work with the GEJ administration to resolve this problem, its efforts can best be described as “lukewarm.” Where was this group when Christians and Southerners were being slaughtered in bomb attacks by Boko Haram all these years? It is not enough to make statements and issue press releases in condemnation of Boko Haram. They can clearly do more to reach out to the leaders of Boko Haram and help the federal government in starting mediation efforts with this group, after all, their terrorist activities are occurring right in their backyard. In addition, the Chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum, retired General Jeremiah Useni was reported to have said that Boko Haram was the creation of a former governor of Borno State who had recruited and used them as his political thugs in the past before they metamorphosed into the terrorist group that they are today. In light of this information, that governor should have been engaged by agents of the Nigerian National security apparatus to assist them in reaching out to the leadership of Boko Haram. This is a “no brainer.” You don’t have to be an intelligence expert to figure this out.

Talking about the Nigerian National Security Apparatus brings to mind what the American government intelligence officials have learned since September 11th. They have realized that you cannot fight terrorism without a first class intelligence and counter intelligence network. Using military power alone has been determined to be grossly inadequate. That’s something the Nigerian government needs to learn from American officials. It is embarrassing that the Nigerian national security apparatus are so incompetent they have been unable to preempt attacks by Boko Haram. Effective anti terrorism work is about prevention of terrorism and not just reacting to attacks after they occur. Boko Haram is taking full advantage of this weakness and the absence of a sophisticated intelligence system in Nigeria. The other crisis facing the Nigerian intelligence community is the issue of traitors in their midst who are suspected of sabotaging efforts by the Nigerian government to deal with Boko Haram. The GEJ administration should make every effort to fish out these individuals, arrest and charge them with treason. This is easier said than done in a country where lawlessness pervades all aspects of society. The reality is that Boko Haram cannot be defeated by military power alone. Agents of the Nigerian National Security apparatus should engage the former governor of Borno State who was responsible for their creation to help them in reaching out to the leadership of this group in order to begin mediation efforts. According to a report by the US House of Representative Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence Committee on Homeland Security, members of Boko Haram are being trained by Al Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb which has led to concerns by US intelligence officials. Boko Haram’s association with Al Qaeda is clearly a black eye for Nigeria and more specifically for northern Nigeria. There are reports of internal displacements by hundreds of Nigerians of southern origin that had to flee the north for safety due to the mayhem being perpetrated by Boko Haram. Enough is enough!
There were reports that some prominent northern leaders had threatened to make Nigeria ungovernable for President GEJ for daring to run for a full 4 year term after completing the remainder of the late President Yar’adua term in office while others were angered because they lost the last presidential elections to him. As a result of these threats, there is widespread suspicion that these leaders may be sponsors of Boko Haram and colluding with this terrorist group in their campaign of terror against innocent Nigerians in the north. If Nigeria was a country of laws, these individuals would have been arrested and charged for incitement and for trying to destabilize the state. Unfortunately in lawless Nigeria, anything goes. The rich and powerful are often above the law which explains why Nigeria has remained under developed.

There have been attempts by some in the north to compare Boko Haram to the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND). Such a comparison is absolute nonsense! These are apples and oranges. MEND fought a battle for economic and social justice for the people of the oil producing region against the Nigerian government. They never bombed churches or targeted innocent civilians. They never asked any ethnic groups to leave the Niger Delta region. Their primary targets were the oil companies, oil installations and oil company workers. On the contrary, Boko Haram is fighting a religious battle against the Nigerian state. Earlier this year, it gave a three day ultimatum to Christians and Southerners to leave the region and carried out deadly attacks against these civilian targets at the expiration of the ultimatum. Their aim is to transform northern Nigerian into a Taliban like enclave. They want to turn northern Nigerian into another Afghanistan. It is time for the GEJ administration to begin mediation with this group in order to resolve this problem. Mediation efforts should include offering amnesty to some members of the group with less blood on their hands. The government should also offer job training, educational and employment opportunities to the members.

• Democracy cannot grow or thrive without the rule of law. 13 years after Nigeria returned to democratic rule, the government has failed to introduce reforms to strengthen key institutions of government. According to a recent US State Department report to congress titled: “Department of State’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011” While the Nigerian constitution provides for an independent judiciary, Nigerian judiciary remained susceptible to pressure from the executive and the legislature branches, and the business sector. In addition, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) the country’s anti-corruption body of which the report also noted that since 2005, the EFCC prosecuted 26 nationally prominent public officials and recovered N1.7 trillion ($10.5 billion). “It however noted that only four of these officials – former Inspector General of Police Tafa Balogun, former Bayelsa State Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, former Edo State Governor Lucky Igbinedion, and PDP chieftain and former Nigerian Ports Authority chairman Olabode George – were convicted, while the courts granted bail to all the others.” To this end, the Nigerian government should institute reforms to strengthen the judiciary to make it more independent otherwise; true democracy will continue to elude Nigeria. The judiciary is a critical institution in a democracy. It should be allowed to play its constitutional role of checks and balances between the Executive and Legislative branches and not one to be intimidated and abused by the other branches of government for their selfish aims.

• The National Assembly should carry out its investigative and oversight responsibilities in a democracy by introducing legislation to reform the Nigerian Police Force and make it a professional law enforcing organization with proper training, adequate compensation and
other amenities. This will make it a credible crime fighting organization and not one that colludes with armed robbers and kidnappers.

• The President working with the National Assembly should introduce a safety net program or social insurance program that would provide a stipend for the millions of students who graduate from Nigerian Universities and Polytechnics and remain unemployed 6 months after completing their National Youth Service. This should also apply to other unemployed youths. This has the potential of reducing the scourge of rampant kidnapping and other criminal activities in which youths are driven to out of desperation.

• The Federal government can also create micro lending institutions around the country. These institutions would be created to provide small loans to potential entrepreneurs. For example, loans can be given to people looking to start a small business; it could give loans to people interested in buying motorcycle to be used as “okada” or tricycle known as “mauruwa” both of which are modes of public transportation used to augment the grossly inadequate public transportation system in the country. Loans can also be given to university or polytechnic graduates with backgrounds in computer technology who are interested in opening internet café or engaging in growing the social media platforms in Nigeria. This will spur entrepreneurship while also addressing the issue of youth unemployment.

• The Federal Government should fix all the refineries and put an end to the importation of gasoline. It must develop the will to break the back of the cabal that is benefiting from the importation of gasoline and other petroleum products. This will save the country billions of naira that could be used for various projects such as revamping the ailing electrical infrastructure, making massive road construction and repairs, improve the transportation infrastructure, water purification and others. These projects will invariably spur the economy and create employment for the over 20 % of Nigerians who are unemployed.

• The World Health Organization estimates that thousands of people die each day in Nigeria from illnesses related to unsafe water. It is unacceptable that in 2012, people should be dying of cholera, dysentery and typhoid fever for drinking contaminated water. The government should make this a top priority.

• The Nigerian government is bloated, overblown and wasteful in the face of incredible poverty amongst the populace. The three branches of government namely the federal government, the national assembly and the judiciary should share in the sacrifice by “tightening their belt.” For example, members of the National Assembly who lose reelection should be forced to give up government apartment, government cars and other properties they received from the government upon assuming office. It is just unbelievable that these politicians are allowed to keep government properties when they leave office. This is common practice amongst government officials in Nigeria.

• Why do government officials travel abroad with so many aides? Do they need to attend so many conferences abroad? Some of these conferences can be arranged locally thereby saving government money in air travel, hotel accommodation and other expenses. Government officials have been known to use these travels as a ploy for siphoning money into private bank accounts abroad.

• The government should abolish the policy of paying for government officials to travel abroad for medical check-up every year and to be flown abroad when they become ill. The government should instead embark on the rehabilitation and upgrading of federal hospitals to meet international standards so that these officials can receive medical care and treatment in Nigeria. This will save government a lot of money.

• While the federal government is commended for trying to curtail the abuses in the oil sector which has been described as the epicenter of waste and corruption in the Nigerian economy, it must do more to bring members of these cartel to justice. It should be noted that the federal government is losing billions of naira everyday due to the criminal activities of these individuals. The cartel has been solely responsible for the sabotage in efforts by the federal government to rebuild the refineries. They are sometimes described as more powerful that the Nigerian government.
• The federal government should also rain in the cartel that benefit from the importation of electric generators into the country. This cartel has also been responsible for sabotaging government efforts to rehabilitate the electricity sector.

If this were a credible democracy, the National Assembly would have summoned the former head of the NPA, Bode George, to account for the billions of naira, Nigeria’s currency, earmarked to pay the pensions of these retirees which he was alleged to have embezzled. The National Assembly would have summoned the head of the Nigerian military to explain why soldiers who fight and die for their country are yet to be paid. The National Assembly has the constitutional obligation to right these wrongs. If it doesn’t, it will go down in history as the most inept and irrelevant in that nation’s history. Power supply in the country remains grossly inadequate at best. Almost every home and apartment now has a generator especially in the urban areas. The current president has pledged to increase the energy capacity by 6,000 kilowatts by the end of this year. We shall see. His predecessor, former President Obasanjo, spent eight years in office and failed to rehabilitate the National Electric Power Authority, (NEPA) which is the country’s power generation and supply bureaucracy. The billions of naira that was earmarked for the upgrade of NEPA’s power generating capacity were alleged to have disappeared during president Obasanjo’s tenure in office and nobody has been held accountable for this theft. The National Assembly was conspicuously missing in action on this explosive matter as well.

Travelling around Lagos and through the south west corridor of the country to the north, one can see the faces of poverty, despair and infrastructural degradation everywhere. Most of the roads in these parts are virtual death traps, the result of poor maintenance. While funds are allocated annually to main these vital interstate highway, the “Nigerian factor” dictates that the maintenance do not have to be carried out and nobody is ever held accountable.It’s a jungle out here! Take the current strike by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the union that represents university professors and lecturers which had been on strike for the past two months. Majority of university students around the country have been unable to take their final exams. The academic school year is yet to be concluded as a result. It is disgraceful and unconscionable that the National Assembly has not intervened to help end this strike. Why will they intervene when their children do not attend universities in Nigeria? Parents are now calling for the children of these politicians to be mandated to attend universities in Nigeria so that they can feel their collective pain. What was most upsetting to me was to see men, women and children looking so emaciated and malnourished. Psychotherapists like me are trained to interpret a person’s mood by their affect. The affect is a reflection of the emotional state and outward expression of feelings by an individual. It was clear to me that the vast majority of these individuals have what we clinicians describe as a sad or depressed affect which translates into a depressed mood. This is very much on target in clinical terms as a malnourished individual living in poverty and deprivation would not be expected to walk around looking happy and in good mood. This was the state of the Nigerian nation I found during my trip. This is how low we have sunk while legislators and other politicians in Abuja, the nation’s capital and seat of government, collect millions of naira in salaries and outrageous benefits, sometimes earning more than politicians in highly developed democracies like the United States. The good news and only silver lining here, is that we now have a new generation of governors who are determined to reverse the curse of wanton looting, impunity and ineptitude that has beset various governments in Nigeria for decades and we need to highlight and acknowledge their accomplishments at every opportunity we get. By doing so, we would be discrediting the older generation of politicians and putting them to shame for stunting the growth of Nigeria.