EDITORIAL: LETTER TO
ALL NIGERIANS ON THE TOPIC OF THE BAD SHAPE OF THE ECONOMY, OIL SUBSIDY,
REDUNDANCY& CAPITAL FLIGHT.
FROM PRINCE FRANK ONAIVI UKONGA & THE EDITORS OF NATIONAL
PEOPLES NEWS
Fellow Compatriots,
I Prince Frank Onaivi Ukonga, Publisher of National Peoples
News-ISSN 1549-0595, a Registered Newspaper of the Nigerian Federation with the
responsibility to gather, process and discriminate information addressed to
educate, promote, entertain and develop the geo-political polity towards higher
standards of rectitude & summon bonum posits the following observations:
THE BAD SHAPE OF THE ECONOMY:
This Week the
President of the Nigerian Federation, H.E. Goodluck Jonathan announced candidly
that the economy is in bad shape. It is a courageous President that can come
out and tell his people the bitter truth. I acknowledge his candidness and
stratagem of coming to equity with clean hands and it will be morally justified
for all and sundry to accept his humility and nobility addressed to cooperating
with him to find solutions to improving the shape of the economy and get the
sovereignty out of economic stagnation. And in this regards creative ideas are
needed from the entire polity and we offer our own contributions from National
Peoples News-. The Peoples Assembly…
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES: DECADES OF LOOTING &
SQUANDIMANIA:
The classification of
the Nigerian Economic Sovereignty by most exclusive world organizations, classify NIGERIA , as a Nation with GNP of
about $250 billion dollars per Annum, oil producing Nation and a great country
of sub-Saharan Africa. That means since independence in 1960 about $12.5
Trillion dollars has accrued to the Nigerian state in estimate and the social,
economic and industrial development we have to show for this large sum is
rather portable. Due mainly to decades of reckless looting of the treasuries of
the Nigeria State by its kleptomaniac leadership; as well as dysfunctional
policy formation, inconsistent strategy and ideological thrust , lack of patriotism, a 3 years bloody
civil war, restive youth, social strives, etc….. And all other ills that we are
all cognizance of…we shall not remain in one spot wallowing in regrets and self
pity, we have to move forward, despite all odds.
THE CURRENT
STATE OF THE ECONOMY:-
The economy is evincing symptoms of the Venezuela
effects as having taking in more than it can chew and this results in stagnation
of virtually all the aspects of Nation building:
INFRASTRUCTURAL DECAY;
Virtually all the national infrastructures in the country
like Roads, bridges, airports, Steel Rolling Mills, Ajaokuta Iron and Steel
Complex, Textile industries, Railways, Tran – Saharan gas pipeline ,
electricity generation and supply, water, hospitals, schools both the
university , secondary and primary schools are in bad shape. To move Nigeria
forward there is the imperative of a massive policy thrust in the aspect of
reconstruction and rebuilding infrastructures on a gigantic National basis.
This will create jobs and stimulate the economy as spending, demand and supply are
corollary colligating in a Siamese symbiosis. But funds, colossal funds are
needed for this.
How do we raise funds
for infrastructural development…?
In classical economic theory, the two ways ever known to
mankind of raising fund for development is either we use our own funds by
saving it gradually until when it is big enough to fund the projects or on the
contrary to use other people’s funds, and in this category you either solicit
for grants from other countries as gifts or you go a borrowing if you cannot
get grants and remember virtually all Nations of the world have their own
problems as well so grants are few and far between… so the only option left is
to go a borrowing. But remember the classical axiom that those who go a borrowing
go a sorrowing. Our case is a bad case having squandered all our earnings and
goodwill away in mundane adventurism out of commissions and indiscretions we
have no other options but to go a sorrowing; to a borrowing.
INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT LOAN OFFER OF 100 BILLION POUND
STARLING FROM THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT:
With the public out cry of Prince Frank Onaivi Ukonga
through National Peoples News, for Reparations payments from those who
colonized us, in all the Media that be all over the world, as well as in the
most exclusive circles of decision making of the world, we have been able to
adequately sensitize the problems of Nigeria and Africa as a continent in dire
need of support to be able to meet up in the 21st Century.
In the past few weeks we stepped up the dreams of Basorun
MKO Abiola as for Reparations payments to be in the form of assistance and not
necessarily cash donations to African countries but in the aspects of foreign
direct investments, loans, technological support , beneficial cooperation in
trade, power generation, mining and explorations of petroleum and natural
resources and we are happy that this global out cry of National Peoples News
and Prince Frank Onaivi Ukonga, has began to yield great fruits in the aspects
of many Nations heeding our clarion SOS call and offering mutually beneficial
proposals for assistances. Just yesterday the United
States of America offered a support of $ 1 billion
dollars to Nigeria
in the energy sector etc.
We believe at National Peoples News that we should grab the
emerging opportunities of loan offers, grants, foreign direct investments etc
and use it well as a second chance to quickly jump start and leap frog our
economic fortunes to the right path of sustainable growth and economic
prosperity…
We strongly believe that accepting the British Government
offer is in the right direction.
100 BILLION pound starling will be close to N30 TRILLION
NAIRA and that is just the right type of stimulus package in terms of push that
the economy needs to jolt it and prod it out of sleep, drowsiness and
stagnation…
The British are more cognizance of our problems in magnitude
and the solution to our problems than we ourselves know it.
The United State is proposing a similar bill of job creation
through a National infrastructural development of $ 447 billion dollars to
develop the inner cities ghettos, build Roads, and to develop the Rural Areas
of the American State. We are in the right path to join
the band wagon if we pursue a similar orientation.
NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT: STRATEGY AND POLICY
THRUST:
THE PPP- Private Partnership Participation in
Infrastructural Development: A few year ago I was supportive to the development
of the PPP aspects of infrastructural development in developing its
conceptualization on a National basis addressed to lift the burden of
infrastructural Development from the shoulders of the various tiers of
governments in Nigeria, through adequate concessionaries of reconstruction, and
maintenance of infrastructures to the private sector of the economy.
The theory we developed only had its necessity reason de
entrée, the sufficiency reasons of success of the theory was still shrouded in
other factors remaining either constant or scaling upwards. But unfortunately
due to the down turn of the economy those sufficiency factors that are germane
to the success of the PPP plummeted along with the crash of the Stock Exchange
and the world economy in generality.
ROAD & AIRPORT CONCESSIONARY:
Whence all the Banks that gave out infrastructural
development loans to beneficiaries of government concessionaries became
distressed and the companies themselves also crashed or barely surviving. They
did not went wrong but rather they did their best as in Dr Wale Babalakin’s
Airport and Lagos – Ibadan Road Concessionary, Gov Raji Fashola’s Badagry Road
and a host of others. The concessionary as regards Road and airports are
slightly different from those of industries. Roads and airports does not have
the capacities to generate resources as much as industries, therefore other factors
has to be re examined in this categories to guarantee the investments of the
private sector in Roads and Airports, otherwise the private investor will come to ruins, shame and grief.
CONSCESSIONARY OF INDUSTRIES:
The Ajaokuta and Delta Steel companies concessionaries is
excluded as those involved in the steel companies’ concessionaires were merely
looting the country. President Jonathan is strongly advised to recover back the
Ajaokuta, Itape, and Delta steel as well as the Oshogbo tool making Rolling mills
and use it as a catalyst to jump start the Nigerian industrial and
technological revolution under the watchful eyes of the presidency .The three
Steel companies can generate more than 3 million jobs when fully operational and
its multiplier effect on the economy would be tremendous…
It is general knowledge in esoteric circles that no Nation
can develop that cannot generate liquid steel; this is the simple truth of
technological and industrial giant strides the world over. Apart from
propaganda and profiteering of unpatriotic elements a serious investment of $1
billion dollars will be adequate to successfully jump start the 3 rolling mills
to full capacities utilization and all its auxiliary industries.
We at National Peoples News Interviewed the former Russian
CEO of Ajaokuta Steel complex, Alik B, Karaev in 2003, who works for a steel
construction company called Tyxempromexport in charge of Ajaokuta steel mill;
He told us that his company constructed 4 steel Rolling mills for India, One
for Egypt, 2 for Iran, One for Britain, Some for USA, for Bulgaria, Poland etc and
has constructed more than 60% of world steel Rolling mills that are working
perfectly today…
We have published copies of the interview for record
purposes, for any body who want to read the full details of the plans of Alik B
Karaev to industrialize Nigeria.
It is not too late, we can ask him to come back to finish what he started as he
told us that the steel plant then was at 98 % completed. I think what he needed
the money for was for a general torn around maintenance/ overhaul and
installation of some new model equipments to take the steel plant to
international standard.
And he told us that if the Nigerian Government mobilize him with
$500,000 dollars he will get the Ajaokuta steel plant working at full capacity
and, also generating up to 800 mega watt of electricity to the National grid
which if given maximum interpretations in the Schumpeterian order could be
expanded to generate double that power of electricity to the national grit or
ever more through replications of a same underlying concept in a favorable environment.
The idea here is that Ajaokuta would kill several birds for
the federal government as in job creation, electricity generation and industrialization
and many other subsidiary industries that will move in droves to Nigeria if
they know that we can now produce liquid steel; our imports of tools, spare
parts for industries both in automobile, tools and other industries will
drastically reduce and this will conserve the billions of dollars we expend in
importations of spare parts and CKD components… if we have the will history is beckoning
at us to make our country great .
Usually the aspect of steel and its importance to national
development and pride comes under national priority interests in order to make
a success of it by what ever means possible. It was a fatal policy thrust and a
security risk to give out those industries…Ajaokuta ,Itape, Delta and Oshogbo mills to the
private sector.
The Alscon concessionary was a success story because the
Russian company involved were genuine and want the best for themselves and for
Nigeria as well as, though they were the lowest bidder but ex President
Obasanjo got it right, to psychic all the investors before awarding it to the lowest
bidder who is serious minded. Alscon have started exporting Aluminum ingots.
And these are part of what we should take into consideration before we give
concessionary to private companies.
THE POWER SECTOR:
One of the most important measures of strength of Nations
and standard of living is the Power Generated/ Head, by Nations. The usual standard
practice of using the GNP/ Head is only for students. In reality and in
exclusive business and investment circles of the world ,it is the electricity
generated by Nations that is considered first, in the aspects of transfer of
technology, destination countries of location of foreign subsidiaries and
branches of multinational production and secondly comes the Market volume and
lastly is the GNP/HEAD…
In contemporary times it is impossible for ambitious nations
to meet the actual power requirement through natural hydro electricity and gas turbines
while it is costly and cumbersome…
Today, it is fashionable, cheaper, and prestigious for big
Nations, like Nigeria to urgently explore as a matter of expediency the Atomic
and Nuclear power generation options…while it cost above to $1 billion dollars
to generate 1000 MW of electricity through other forms of gas turbines, hydro
electricity etc, it cost only a trifle of less than
$500 million, to generate its equivalent, using the Atomic/ Nuclear
options.
Whence it is imperative to go nuclear by what ever means
possible at the shortest and fastest time frame.
THE FUEL SUBSIDY REMOVAL:
At this juncture we have to tell each other the truth. And
before I delve into this most important crucial issue of public discuss in Nigeria, I want
to remind all that I am coming to equity with clean hands and unbiased mind for
the good of the country. We squandered all our monies and opportunities before
the coming to being of President Jonathan; this is truth self evident. He now
came in, saddled with the responsibility of curing a sick patient. To perform
surgical operation on a patient, with a terminal ailment, so that the ailment
will not kill the patient. We all know that surgical operations performed to
heal patient are painful and costly but necessary and mandatory for the patient
to live…
And that is the whole crux of the petroleum subsidy and the
reason why it has to be removed.
Apart from the fact that the actual amount of subsidy needed
to cushion the economy is embellished, it is pertinent to impress it that any
Nation whose main source of export earning is the oil industry runs the great
risk of being underdeveloped by subsidizing that same product from where its
main source of income originate .Its like you are earning with the right had
and giving it out immediately with the left hand. It is illogical and
uneconomical. All Efforts to diversify the oil earning into the development of
a vibrant real sector of the economy failed woefully in the past.
So we have become a net exporter of capital invariably, and
the little that comes from the oil export we take it again to subsidize the
internal consumption; a vicious circle to no where. Then how do we get money
for other aspects that needs urgent attentions like infrastructural development
increase in minimum wages, health care, housing, other recurrent and capital
expenditures…
We are all witness to the wanton looting of the economy for
the past 50 years of our independence…we ate our tomorrow the day before yesterday;
we embezzled our future yesterday; and looted our posterity and that of our
children and grand children today.
One cannot eat his cake and still have it…that is the simple
adamantine truth of subsequent creation in the spiritual substantiated realms…
It is time to call ourselves to a critical discussion as
brothers and sister in a locked up room and tell each other the bitter truth;
as the adage goes that; when brothers and sisters tell each other the truth
they will start crying, but when they deceive each other after a family re
union meeting you will see them smiling and laughing when coming out of the
meeting.
In my own case, as
Prince Frank Onaivi Ukonga, Publisher of National Peoples News, Please, count
me out of such meetings, where we shall tell each other lies for the sake of
smiling…I have spoken..
Good luck, President Jonathan.
LONG LIVE FEDERAL REPUBLIC
OF NIGERIA.
SIGN: PRINCE FRANK ONAIVI UKONGA: PUBLISHER NATIONAL PEOPLES
NEWS: ISSN 1549-0595.
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