rowland adewumi Nigeria

It is worthy of note that the opposition parties to the PDP are contesting to oust an entrenched incumbent political party armed with a lot of party machinery and political capital as well as unlimited source of funding and advantageous public media access. Undoubtedly, this is a tall order. In spite of the fact that this incumbent party has been in office since 1999, it has not delivered on its promises on a range of issues, from power, roads, economy, education, water, housing, technology acquisition to a whole range of other important issues.

 

The average Nigeria is worse off economically now than he was prior to the Obasanjo administration; an administration that embarked on array of fuzzy trickle down economic reform without planning, priority or lag time. A reform that is fraught with a lot of inconsistencies and contradictions. There is now untold hardship and desolation in the land, unprecedented number of business closings and bankruptcies, corruption, insecurity and disregard for the rule of law, including other lags. The way things are moving toward April elections, an objective assessment is that we are actually adrift from the shore of free and fair election. The same old wine in new bottle. The same old story. God will not save this country, because the parties are not the problem, but the unscrupulous elements within some of the parties.

 

Consequently, there is a fervent appetite for wind of change for leadership but it will not come cheap. The straggle to wrestle power from the ruling pointy will be arduously brutal but achievable. This election can be won on a well articulated issue oriented campaign on the under enumerated areas. Our presidential candidates can hit a home run and get the attention of the business community, the Nigerian electorate and the international community to take a second look at them if they portray their knowledge and understanding of: (i) eradication of all forms of corruption, (ii) practical fundamental package to provide electricity to Nigerians, (iii) globalization and foreign policy presentation, (iv) how to improve domestic trade to influence global economy and trade, (v) local technology and skill acquisition relative to differentiated quality education, (vi) relative firm security of Nigerians, (vii) moral high ground, integrity and fairness, (viii) paramount compliance to the rule of law and other social issues.

 

The strategies are within reach. First, they should remember the first commandment in political campaign, do not allow your opponent to define you in the minds of the electorate, the way PDP are going about it now, rather the reverse should be the case. Second, differentiation and triangulation of party agenda, issues and candidates is the one and only strategy to oust PDP this April. Third, the imperatives of strategic campaign setting, where application of critique and attacks backed up with clear and workable solution are clearly presented to Nigerians. Fourth, they should be proactive and stay on the offense, by setting the agenda of the debate on political, economic and other relevant issues of discourse. PDP are trying to run on reform legacy and continuity, Buhari or Ribadu must wrestle the economic reform issue form them, de-legitimize the continuity issue with a better articulated economic reform package through TRIANGULATION and this will put their whole campaign in total disarray.

 

The presidential candidates should always when necessary in context use the application of their extended knowledge and understanding of globalization and its implication and effects on foreign policy, economic issues and technology. Summarily, globalization has been with us for over a decade now – but we in this part of the world are just waking up to the realities of the times. There is now a new world order, made more precarious and treacherous by elements of survival of the fittest. This phenomenon has its desirable and undesirable consequences. Globalization brings out the best in a fiercely competitive flatter world. It enhances digitalization and the widening of the digital divide at the expense of the developing world whose governments are slow to realize that technology advancement should be assigned the greatest coefficient value in their economic reform equation.

 

And for Nigeria and other developing economies, technology deficiency has been the bane of our economic and social development and has held us hostage for decades from having the ability of exploiting our God given abundant natural resources and has cost us tens of billions of dollars in economic leakages due to our helpless reliance on foreign technology. This fact must be shared with the electorate by the presidential candidates in the campaign trail and during press interviews and during debate sessions.

 

World trade. The big question now becomes, does Nigeria have the technical skill and production apparatus to be relevant in global trade?  If the answer is no – then we will be irrelevant in global trade and be at the receiving and as consumers – because to be relevant in trade you must have the comparative advantage to produce and if you cannot produce you become a consumer nation with the attendant economic consequences. The candidate must realize that he would not make the same mistake made by this administration which did not understand the level of development and the crucial economic problems and priorities in reform. Economic reform is a gradual process with set out objectives in order of priorities. There is nothing like sweeping economic reform been implemented by CBN et al.   Therefore, they should inform and educate Nigerian on their agenda?

 

In the first place, the candidates must take their case to the electorate that no economic reforms and decisions are made in this time and era in isolation of technology advancement – the productive arm of the economy and trade potentials as well as the ability to exploit optimally the potentials and abundant natural resources of Nigeria. For these reasons and others, “Technology advancement should have been offered the greatest coefficient value in the reform equation”.

 

The inability of the Nigerian economy to sustain the economic and social needs of its teeming population in spite of its enviable abundant natural resources can be traced unquestionably to its technology deficiency, corruption and resources mismanagement. The economy just like most developing is characterized by stagflationary tendencies emanating from inefficient production based economy as result of technology deficiency and traced to scarcity/expensiveness of essential goods and services in an impoverished economic environment. The presidential candidates must be armed with these basic economic, technology and political facts to be always in a position to do critical and comparative analysis of his programs against PDD’s. What we don’t know is that of these economic variables, the technology domain which dictates the invaluable skill acquisition remains the mover and the catalyst of driving our economy.

 

Buhari/Bakare should take this technology potential message to the electorate and the business community and tell them that you do not have to wait seven years to understand the strength and multiplier effects of technology advancement. Tell them that any president in this time and era who places technology advancement at the tail end of his economic reform agenda is not qualified to be at the helm of affairs.  Explain to them that within the first one year of your administration Nigeria as a nation will establish a clear and practical TECHNOLOGY POLICY with visible macrotechnology architecture on the ground for accelerated concerted home grown technology program.

Adewumi Rowland, PhD

www.rowland-adewumi.com