Tinubu enlists 8 things Buhari govt must do for Nigerians
Tinubu said
this in a paper he delivered at the Daily Trust dialogue.
Represented
by a former Commissioner for Finance in Lagos State, Olawale Edun, Tinubu
highlighted 8 things the current administration must do to foster growth and
development.
He said: “1.
We are a populous nation with large, ever-growing cities. We need to provide
jobs for this expanding urban population.
This means
we must press forward with a national industrial policy by fostering strategic
industries that will provide employment into the foreseeable future.
2. We need a
national infrastructure plan that envisions a coherent and integrated
infrastructural grid, as no national economy may grow beyond the capacity of
the infrastructure that serves it. This particularly is true of electrical
power.
3. We must
reject the notion of orthodox economics that governmental balancing of budgets
or surpluses are always good. In our case, following this mainstream approach
may lead to perpetual stagnation and deter us from the brave steps required to
promote true development.
In this
regard, an immediate opportunity to provide stimulus to the economy while
simultaneously alleviating the hardship of retirees and old-age pensioners
presents itself, through the comprehensive tackling of outstanding pension
payments. While what is needed is a holistic review and reform of the
disjointed social security and welfare apparatus, a good place to start would
be the clearing up of existing pension arrears and the establishment of a
framework for averting their future build-up.
The wider
task of comprehensive social security reform would inevitably require a
high-level body to review and advise on the harmonization of various
initiatives and deductions from workers’ payrolls in the name of welfare, such
as pension contributions, national housing fund, national health insurance etc
4. Monetary
policy should move toward lower interest rates to make credit is more
accessible to business and the consumer. This will spur industrial investment
and help us reach more conducive levels of consumer demand. It also will
dissuade people from corrupt temptations.
The need to
pay for homes and other costly items in one lump sum payment is a strong
invitation to corruption. For example, if mortgages and credit instruments are
more available to the judiciary, jurists would be able to purchase homes,
decent care and other items considered the basic amenities of modern life via
long-term installment payments that can be met through their salaries. Able to
purchase these things properly and thus afforded a comfortable life, jurists
would be less vulnerable to improper inducements.
5. The
government-backed home mortgage system must be re-structured and land
conveyance more streamlined make mortgages and all forms of landed transactions
are easier and less bureaucratic. This will increase the wealth of the nation
and improve the efficiency of land use. It also opens the door to affordable
housing for millions of families now beyond the reach of owning their own
homes.
6. Agriculture
remains the backbone of the nation. We must help the common farmer by improving
rural output and incomes. Here, we must revive an old policy that served us
well. We must return to commodity exchange boards which will allow farmers to
secure good prices and hedge against loss. An agricultural mortgage loan
corporation should be inaugurated to further promote these goals.
7. To
achieve better levels of overall governance, we need to re-balance the duties
between federal and state governments by giving states more power, authority
and resources.
8. Last,
Government must be sufficiently bold to begin a process that will ultimately
result in a government-backed pension plan for all elderly Nigerians, this is
something akin to Social Security which all great nations provide for those of
advanced age.”
Comments