Omogbolahan Babawale Pens Open Letter To President Tinubu

OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT BOLA AHMED TINUBU, GCFR

Dear Mr. President,

COST OF GOVERNANCE VS. FOOD CRISIS: EVEN GUN WILL NOT RESIST THE MASSES

The above caption refers.

Your statement to APC support groups recently wherein you said, “…I campaigned on hope. I’ve to rest on that hope, and push for that hope for the joy of everyone….Don’t worry. Yes! We have the challenges about inflation. It’s okay. We will bring it down…” further refers.

Your Excellency, Mr. President, sir, albeit it is very rare in Nigeria’s political trajectory to see a leader, especially a President to agree to the unfavourable economic reality on ground each time. It shows how empathic you are as a leader. However, beyond the cosmetic of this empathic feeling is the need to walk the talk of a true revamp. More than ever, the best time to look into the food crisis rocking the country was yesterday. The next best time is now! Like Patrick Bet-David said on leadership, “Insecure leaders surround themselves with ‘Yes people’. Effective leaders surround themselves with people who challenge them.”

Your Excellency, you have always shown yourself as the latter – an effective leader. This was further corroborated not too long ago by the incumbent Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr. Oladele Alake who once worked with you as your Commissioner for Information and Strategy while you held sway as the Lagos State Gómìnà. Alake confirmed how your team members would argue with you over policies (on) and issues of governance for days. It shows you are very much open to criticisms. I therefore want you to see this piece as one of such criticisms and the need for you to declare State of Emergency on the food crisis rocking the entire nation.

Your Excellency, it is commendable that recently, and for the first time in years, you instructed that food grains from the country’s food reserves be made available to the most vulnerable in the society. We saw the pilot scheme commence from Sokoto State by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, expected to spread to other states of the Federation. I think if my memory does not fail me, I only saw a similar gesture in Kwara State afterwards and ever since, I have not read or seen that happen in other states (I may be mistaken though). I think more than ever, something drastic needs to be done without further delay.

Your Excellency, there is need to do mode in the area of cost of governance. You may have shown some notable moves in addressing the high cost of governance, but Nigerians want to see more on the part of your appointees. It is counterproductive when we preach patience to the Nigerian masses while political appointees display some odoriferous exudation of opulence with the public’s common patrimony. If the system is so skewed in favour of some privileged few, such persons should not rub it on the faces of the struggling public.

Your Excellency, it is an open and shut fact that Nigeria practises a federal system of government even though it may be quasi, the Constitution guarantees the three (3) arms of government. The agitation around the minimum wage and the opprobrious leadership of the labour union is further heightened by the humongous package payable to members of the National Assembly. The average Nigerian sees such package for a minuscule of the population as too big in juxtaposition with what comes to the Nigerian workers. Nigerians want to see a drastic reduction in the cost of running the National Assembly. Of course, the Constitution does not give you such powers as to determine the running of the affairs of the legislative arm of government. You can, however, canvass for such reduction in the cost of governance through the leadership of both assemblies.

Your Excellency, the country’s current economic situation is further exacerbated by the standoffishness of the leadership of the sub-nationals. Many state governors are mere opportunists with no clear-cut blueprint on delivering democratic dividends to the people. With the present situation, many state governments ought to have rolled out mechanisms and/or their plans on addressing the food crisis. Only a handful of the state governors have announced measures to address the food crisis. Lagos State Government came out with an intervention project tagged, ‘Oúnjẹ́ Èkó’ (Lagos Food Hub) where food items are subsidised for the public. This is aside provision of some food items as palliatives. Kwara, Borno and Anambra States also did some similar by distributing food items to members of the public. Other state governors are either acting indifferent or so-so on the catch22 situation.

Your Excellency, I love to make reference to Osun because that is my state. It is shocking to see that in the Supplementary Budget sent to the House of Assembly in August 2023, Governor Ademola Jackson Adeleke reduced the budgetary allocation to agriculture from N5bn to N2.7bn while increasing that of the Office of the Governor to a humongous N16.4bn. By the end of December 2023, N15.1bn (representing 96.1%) had been released to the Office of the Governor for ‘food and entertainment’. As if that were not enough, N13bn was appropriated for the Office of the Governor in the 2024 Budget while agriculture got just N3.7bn. As of March 30, 2024 the sum of N5.2bn had been released for Governor’s food and entertainment while agriculture got only a ridiculous N164m, in an economy where the citizens face food crisis. Meanwhile, our ‘wonderful’ Gómìnà during the campaigns promised to prioritise agriculture. Governor Adeleke vowed to bring in farmers from Zimbabwe and Indonesia to the state to develop her agriculture (which the state is known for anyway) potential. Till date, after near 19-months, it is a complete fiasco!

Your Excellency, even if the dynamics of today cannot provide a reason for us, as a nation, to revert to the regional government that gave the country steady progress and competitive landmarks in individual region, the leadership can still take a cue from some of the measures that produced fantastic results in those days. For instance, the Awolowo government in the old Western Region after a visit to Israel and Sudan in 1959 came back to adopt Israel’s Moshavim and Sudan’s Gezira agricultural schemes by establishing farm institutes in Ikorodu, Obada, Ilesha, Agbadu, and Asaba. Farm settlements were also established across the Western Region that included Ile Oluji Farm Settlement in Ile-Oluji/Oke Igbo Local Government Area, Mariwo Farm Settlement in Ifedore Local Government Area, Onisere Farm Settlement in Idanre Local Government Area, and Orin-Ekiti settlement, all in Ondo and Ekiti states. Others are the farm settlements in Esa-Oke, Ago-Owu, Oyere and Mokore, all in Osun State. In Ogun, the settlements are the Ado-Odo, Ago Iwoye, Ajegunle, Coker, Ibiade, Ikenne and Sawonjo farm settlements. Sadly, all these farm settlements are dead. Our state governors would rather go cap in hand for monthly federal allocations.

Your Excellency, as the country struggles with the current economic reality, it is important that in addressing the seeming intractable quagmire, the issue of the overbloated cost of governance must be addressed frontally. We must plug financial leakages across all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government. It is about time we did a forensic audit of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) and its affiliate agencies like it is currently going on with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The activities and operations of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) must be brought under searchlight, ditto other agencies such as the Nigeria Extractive Industries and Transparency Initiative (NEITI). These measures, including cost-cutting mechanisms, are germane to returning the country to huge revenue generation and profitability that will ultimately guarantee a viable economy for the country and her people.

Your Excellency, before I put a stop to this piece, it is equally to quote a statement of yours in recent time here,

“If democracy is to be sustained, it must also elevate the performance level of government and the corresponding rights and privileges enjoyed by the citizens”.

Now, let me conclude by saying that the failure of the leadership, whether at the national (federal) or sub-national (state) level to elevate the performance level in addressing the rising cost of living may result into a showdown and revolt by the hungry masses. Do not forget, sir, that a hungry people is an angry and angered people. The masses should not be pushed to the wall because when they are, the rat-tat-tat sound of bullets from the guns will not stop a determined mob.

Happy Democracy Day!!!

OMOGBOLAHAN L.A. BABAWALE
Public Affairs Analyst
Convener/Lead Resource Person
The Think-Tinubu Initiative (3TI)
officialczar2@gmail.com/riches.babs@gmail.com