Why do they
keep making policies or pronouncements that the generality of Nigerians cannot
identify with? Why are we so insignificant in their eyes?
The other
day I was listening to someone analysing Nigeria and making allusions. According to him, Nigeria has joined the
unenviable ranks of failed nations. It
is number nine now in the list he said. Listening to him, a very faint feeling
of anger was growing inside me, but on a second thought, I simply nodded my
head in agreement. I will only be deceiving myself refusing a spade its name.
On a different
day, but not too far off, right on my TV, GEJ was telling Nigerians how his
administration has made giant strides in bringing development to Nigerians.
According to him Nigerians are now enjoying uninterrupted power supply because
his administration has increased generation to 4,000 megawatts. My first
reaction was to turn and look at my wife, just to check if I heard him well.
My wife’s reaction was dismissive. She simply told me not to mind them.
We were running on generator, and it’s been like that for three straight
days.
These issues
and several others, especially the new thinking by the government to buy mobile
phones for 10 million farmers in Nigeria informed this piece.
Strange and
bizarre things will not seize happening in Nigeria, at least for now. Sometimes one wonders if our leaders’ brains
still function in a manner that can be called sane. Else how can a government enact a policy that
supports expenditures that the eventual benefit is at best flaky? Even a ‘no-brainer’ knows that buying mobile
phones for farmers can only in the immediate, promote their social status and
in the long run burden them financially, because of the recurring costs of
buying recharge cards that are so expensive in Nigeria.
Considering
the myriad of challenges that farmers face in Nigeria today, mobile phones are
what our political leaders thought as the silver bullet. What about
infrastructure, ie., storage facilities, good roads, tractors, etc. Can't they
even think of bringing back extension workers who in those good old days used
to advise farmers on new methods? How about fertilizers???
Sometimes
one will be forgiven to think that our leaders approach to policy issues is
guided by pure malice. If not, how do you explain government’s pronouncement
to buy 10 million mobile phones for farmers? What purpose will it serve? Will it
solve the problem of failed crops? Will the farmers use it to weed their farms?
Will it preserve yields that go bad before the next session? Will it fix
bridges that stop farmers from taking their yields to the market themselves for
better value? Will it provide them hospitals to treat themselves and save them
from missing a farming season because of ill health?
Let's even
go back to the basics, how did the government come to the figure of 10 million
phones? Is this the number of farmers without phones or the number of entire
farmers in Nigeria? And why expend N60 billion on phones when the total
budget of the Agric Ministry is a paltry N81 billion. If it is a case of
stealing through contracts that you guys are interested in, don't you think you
are all been lazy even in the act of stealing? If you use your heads very well,
you will make more money providing tangible things. For instance, should
you decide on a policy that will move say 10,000 small scale farmers to a
mechanized level, don't you think you will make more money from that initiative,
using the same resources you are planning to waste on phones that will not get
to the farmers? And above all, you will receive several accolades from
Nigerians.
Another
basic issue to consider also, is that for decades now, the government cannot
successfully distribute fertilizers to farmers; their usual claim is that the
fertilizers are hijacked by middle men. On the remote premise that we
even agree that the phones are necessary, what guarantee do we have that the
same middlemen that have refused fertilizers getting to farmers for decades
will not put on their best acts of hijacking the phones again?
Mr President
Sir, the actions of our representatives in government are becoming shameful to
us, we are finding it very hard to defend you or your actions. Please
stop these nonsensical policies and channel the money to services that are
beneficial to Nigerians. A stitch in time, wise men say, saves nine.
