In another six months, this year will roll over to another eventful year - the year of preparations for elections 2011. For those who do not know, many politicians have already oiled their machinery and are campaigning openly for re-election. This is totally not unexpected, considering the idiosyncrasy of the typical Nigerian politician. What do you have to say of a politician who knows within himself that his tenure has been an abysmal failure so far and still goes ahead campaigning for re-election? This is one thing that makes some Nigerian politicians a bunch of jesters and clowns.

I read with measured disbelief the eye-popping and intriguing reports in the media about some of our elected politicians during the last Democracy Day celebrations. They competed for space in the media to showcase their achievements. Sincerely speaking, while some of the reports were true and verifiable, others were quite spurious and padded.

What on earth could make somebody tell lies about his performance, when it is easy for the masses to make the assessment themselves? It is common knowledge that some of our elected leaders are yet to come to terms with the reason for their election. These politicians see their elections as mere avenues for self-enrichment and adulation. They have hardly done anything to improve the lives of their people and yet have the effrontery to seek extension of mandate.

As I wrote in the beginning of this piece, the year is half-spent and the masses are still full of expectation from governments at all levels to meet their needs. One of the greatest expectations of the people from the Federal Government in the remaining part of this year is the actualization of the 6000MWs electricity generation target. I refer to it as the greatest expectation because on it revolves other indices of development. It amounts to sheer illusion for anybody to think that our nation can advance beyond its present stage of development without sufficient electricity. Even the Vision 20:2020 programme of the present administration will amount to a mirage without steady electricity.

This is why I was pleasantly moved by the recent interview granted by the Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, to one of the national dailies. In the interview he reeled out the achievements of his government in the power sector, assuring that his state was on the way to attaining the 600 MWs of electricity target it set for itself before the middle of 2010. According to the governor, this would be sufficient to meet the electricity needs of the entire state. This is simply amazing! How I wish this would be the case across the country!

I have written on several occasions about the need to solve the energy crisis facing the nation. Armed robbery, lack of investments, under-utilization, joblessness, poverty, youth restiveness and other social vices have their roots in lack of steady power supply. I know that our economy will bounce back once the electricity problem is solved.

Between January and now, the state of electricity supply has worsened, plummeting from 3200MWs achieved in early this year to as low as 1500MWs in the past six weeks, thereby making life intolerable for the people. Electricity has become such a luxury that people value it more than any other item. I wonder the joy that will envelop the entire nation when steady power supply becomes a reality! I hope all of us will be alive to witness this miracle. No matter how anybody may look at it, Nigeria will regain its lost glory someday soon.

God knows that we do not have the strength to endure this self-inflicted scourge. It is self-inflicted because there was a time when electricity was supplied uninterruptedly in Nigeria. I was a living witness to it. Even in Lagos in the mid 80’s PHCN (then NEPA) never took light for a single day in a whole of six months. That was Nigeria then. How the situation has degenerated to this regrettable level is what I have no answer to.

The harm lack of steady power has caused the nation’s industrial life is incalculable. Apart from huge expenditure in procuring and running high-capacity generators other factors such as skyrocketing cost of funds from financial houses and other overheads have taken their toll on the industries. According to a recent report by a national newspaper in Nigeria over 500 companies have either folded up or relocated to other countries with more friendly investment climate.
The naira has not fared any better either.

It has continued to fluctuate uncontrollably - hitting an all-time high of N185 in April this year. The state of the naira is reflective of the volatility that has hit the global financial markets. But it is worth mentioning that Nigeria’s economy has been saved from the severity of the global situation by the foresight of our financial managers led by the then Governor of Central Bank, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, in embarking on far-reaching reforms, which included mergers and acquisition and recapitalization of the banks, that have helped to sanitize the system. The result is the relative stability the economy enjoys.

Another significant thing that has helped to stabilize the economy is the injection of over N78 billion into the banking system by the CBN to alleviate the impact of the sudden crunch that has hit the financial sector, and occasioned by the global financial meltdown. The injection of the funds became inevitable considering the dire straits in which the banks have found themselves - particularly after the near-collapse of the stock market precipitated by the involvement of many of them in margin trading.

Perhaps the worst culprit in the factors that led to the present downturn facing the economy is the insecurity in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. A recent report within the week indicated that Shell Corporation has shut in another 300,000 bpd as a result of the continued vandalism of its facilities, despite the several measures put in place by the Federal Government to stem the unrest. The proclamation of amnesty for the militants in the region by the president is one sure way to restore normalcy in the region. I believe the amnesty will work if the parties involved show restraint and sincerity in its implementation. I have never showed any pretentions about my position on the Niger Delta crisis.

I have taken pain to espouse them in this column. No matter how anybody looks at the matter the people of the region have suffered irretrievable neglect over the years. All the promises by former President Olusegun Obasanjo to solve the crisis in the region were pretentiously made: there was no truth in any of them. The only practical and genuine effort to resolve the crisis is what President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua is doing currently. He has demonstrated an undiluted commitment to put the crisis behind us by ensuring that the injustices of the past are redressed. This is why I think he should be trusted and given a chance to pull his plan through. The opposition by some militant groups to the amnesty, as is the case at the moment, is an ill-wind that does nobody any good.

Just as plans were afoot last week to proclaim the amnesty another important sector of the nation’s economy was paralyzed by strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), demanding the implementation of agreements reached between it and the Federal Government. It is painful that the strike was allowed to commence despite repeated warnings by the union. We have always known that each time ASUU embarks on strike it is the students and their parents that suffer most. The dislocation of academic activities in tertiary institutions across the country constitutes a huge setback to the socio-economic life of the nation. This is why it has become imperative for the Federal Government to swallow its pride and listen to ASUU and try to meet its demands. The recent judgment by the Supreme Court of Nigeria quashing the sacking of five University of Ilorin lecturers was an eye-opener.

Infrastructural development of the nation is another aspect that has not fared well at all. Even though the Federal Government has awarded contracts for some major road, water, health and agricultural projects the impact of these projects is yet to be felt by the masses. It is hoped that these projects will yield the desired results before the end of the year. Of significant mention is the agricultural sector which has not experienced any major activity this year. The level of hunger in the country calls for a concerted action by the relevant stakeholders to fashion a way round the problem. It makes no sense for the people to suffer when billions of dollars lie unutilized in our foreign reserves. Part of this money should be ploughed back into ventures that will benefit the common man and make life less cumbersome for all of us.

Unfortunately, some state governments are groaning under the weight of the sudden reduction in monthly collectible revenue accruing to them from the federation account. The consequence of this development has not been palatable at all. It is sad that some of them have found it difficult to pay salaries. This is not a blanket exoneration of the governors; after all, I am not their spokesman. But the truth has got to be told. While some of them have justifiable reasons not to meet their statutory obligations to their people others have no reason whatsoever to cry at this time. For example, what justification does a state that earns N15 billion monthly have for its inability to pay its workforce?

Generally speaking, we have not fared better. The first half of this year has posed a difficult puzzle to the Federal Government in its effort to stabilize the economy and restore the people’s hope. Its inability to control the restiveness in the Niger Delta coupled with the increased insecurity across the country, not exempting the altercations that have hit the polity resulting in suspension of academic work by university teachers, has remained a huge challenge.
And we should not forget that 2011 is by the corner.

How will the government cope with the heat that will come with the preparations for elections and the endless agitations by the various ethnic groups for autonomy? I do not envy President Yar’Adua but he should not be daunted by these seemingly intractable problems. He can surmount them if he maintained absolute sanity, maturity, and sense of purpose in the discharge of his onerous responsibilities. He still has another six months to prove his mettle. God help us!