Presidential System of Government, Too costly for Nigeria, Parliamentary is better: NWOKO
By Adeniyi Ifetayo
Prince Ned Nwoko is a Senator representing Delta North senatorial district of Delta State, a Lawyer, Antarctica Explorer, Philanthropist, Founder of PNNFoundation, Initiator, Ned Malaria, as well as the Chancellor at Sports University,
Idumuje-Ugboko. He told Isioma Madike in this interview that Nigerian leaders need to revolutionise governance if the country must work as expected. Excerpts:
How do you perceive the current administration and what areas do you think need urgent attention?
I want the new regime to bring an economy that is able to provide for the people. I’m looking at far-reaching solutions that we need to take to get us to those points. I’m not going to deal with normal questions and I’m not here to assess any government. If you ask me what we need to do to make Nigeria a better place, I will give you my candid opinion on that.
What are those things that you think can make the country better?
Well, we need to look inwards. We need to rely on ourselves to grow our economy. We need to sever our ties with those countries that had dominated us economically like America and Britain. I’m looking at economic independence as opposed to political independence. We have all that it takes to make Nigeria a great nation and we must work towards that. I’m talking about the natural resources that we have, the human resource.
There is hardly anything we don’t have in Nigeria. The question therefore should be: how do we begin to manufacture? What do we need to do? We cry about exchange rate and and this is one area that affects us as a people and we can take care of it, if you understand what I’m driving at. About 35 years ago I went to South Korea for the first time and it was just like Nigeria of today and 10 years later it was a different story.
What did they do differently?
They locked down their borders and began to copy and produce. That is what we need to do in Nigeria. We can copy and improve on it. We should have industries; we already have graduates and engineers everywhere and we can engage them and other professionals to use them. Look at the oil sector. It’s in a sorry state. How many people in Nigeria are involved in oil exploration or anything? Less than two per cent and these are things that we are supposed to have trained our people to take over from the so-called expatriates. Why are we not doing the right thing? The first thing we need to do, like I said earlier, is to look inward and start to grow our economy from within.
Is that all that needs to be done?
No, we also need to forget about dollars and stop relying on it. The first step to take is to close our so-called foreign reserve and bring the money to Nigeria and allow our banks to manage it. Loans should be affordable to the manufacturers and producers of Nigerian goods, that grows the economy.
When I went to Morocco for the first time, the exchange rate then was 12 dirham to one pound. Now it is still the same. Borrowing rate in that country is three per cent and people can borrow to live their lives. You can’t do that in Nigeria. Banks charge 25 per cent and the government is doing nothing to manage interest rates.
The rate is being determined by market forces and everybody just sells what they like. If you have an iPhone 10 in Lagos, they will sell it for different prizes. There is no regulation. There is no uniformity. Nigeria has to be re-configured, re-engineered. We can’t grow without that. We should be talking about the security of the people. How many people are able to buy cars and houses or go shopping and buy what they need? We need to start thinking about long term planning and solutions.
You mentioned Morocco earlier, does it mean Morocco no longer maintains foreign reserves?
Morocco doesn’t have foreign reserves. Does France have foreign reserves? No. These are things that were imposed on us after independence and we are still going along with it. We need to have leaders that will say no. Why will the exchange rate determine the price of garri or corn for instance? It’s because the economy is disjointed. The earlier we begin to understand how economies work, the better. We need to do away with dollars.
There are other factors that are also very infuriating. How will expatriates, they are not called that in other countries and they are paid in dollars while the rest of Nigerians are paid in naira. And the disparity is so much. You discriminate against your own people and you think it is acceptable. If you want to start re-organising the economy, that is one area you should look into. You can’t have companies paying their workers in dollars.
In India you are not paid in dollars. You pay with the local currency and if you don’t like it you go back to your country. That’s why there is demand for foreign currencies. We will be forced to produce everything and anything locally and then the quality will improve and we will be able to export. I think we need to look inward to look at how we are going to have a better economy.
Aside from these, is there nothing new the government can still do to re-engineer the economy?
There is nothing new the government will do. They will borrow money to buy things and the demand of the foreign currency will weigh down on the economy and they will say the foreign reserve is for our people that are importing. What is the percentage of Nigerians that are involved in the importation of goods, less than one per cent? So, because of them you won’t bring the money; do you know the impact of bringing back $45 billion into Nigeria to build things. There are many Local entrepreneurs with skills but money is hampering them and they have no source of funding.
In India if you are a graduate, in a year or two, they will link you with a bank which lends you money to start something, and you will pay overtime and life continues. In those countries you have a decent life. You will know as an artisan that in the next five or 10 years this is where you will be. When you have such guarantees you will most likely not think of any crime.
All the bandits and criminals, it’s because of frustration of being denied, and frustrated. They are being ignored and they are hopeless. Nigeria is survival of the fittest. You can kill and make some kind of income. I’m not encouraging crime, I’m just saying the society is responsible for the criminal level we have.
Many point at corruption as the bane of Nigerian society. What do you think the government should do to either eradicate or reduce it to the barest minimum?
The economy is key! So, the government should focus on manufacturing, once that is done people would be engaged legitimately. At that point they start thinking of climbing the ladder and that would instigate transparency in the system and job guarantee. Once these are enshrined, people would think less of crime or corruption.
Corruption, crime, banditry are all the same. If you want to deal with it you need to re-evaluate the country and get people to think and look forward to the future. In a society where people are content and the system is good to them because they are not arrested for stealing, there is a consequence. Remunerate them with good money and someone won’t try to steal customers’ money and be arrested.
It’s the government and economy that enables society. When people earn well, they’d guard and guide what they have jealousy. They will not steal because of the repercussions; they could go to jail.
What do you consider to be the way out of the current hyper inflationary trend in the country?
What is inflation? When you have enough, the prices will reduce. Inflation can happen because we don’t have enough money and production is an issue because people are not producing. Our money is tied to the dollar so we source for it and the cost is high and people cannot afford it because we are not producing and we are depending on exports. People then go to black markets and it’s bad. Stop importation. Someone asked why I stopped wearing a suit and jacket and I said I’m a Nigerian and it’s made in Nigeria. We can produce everything in Nigeria including cars. I went to a company in the UK and they told me the seatbelts they are using are made in Kaduna. I was surprised and impressed. We can produce anything.
It’s just to tighten our belts; closing our borders and saying we want to produce. Foreign currency is the root of our evils. You can’t go to England and pay in dollars. They won’t accept it. We need the economy to be good and stable so that you can use your naira card to pay for things abroad. We have to protect our currency and promote our goods. We want our people working; how many people are working, are able to work, those that can’t work, those we need to provide for.
Can you link this to the suffering in the land?
Absolutely! People suffer a lot in Nigeria. Our leaders are irresponsible. There should be resources available for the people. The structure is not what it should be. The presidential system we practice is expensive. Local governments should be independent and be able to manage their security, for instance. They should work with the Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) and vigilantes. That’s if they are allowed the freedom to operate as local governments.
Abroad, local governments are in charge of schools, hospitals and roads. I think the presidential system of government is too expensive. What we need to do is to go back to the parliamentary system. We need to look at real governance and we need to be able to touch the lives of the people. If I have my way I’d suggest we go back to the parliamentary system of government where representatives will be voted from the six geopolitical zones and they will be the prime minister and he will be working with the members of parliament in the same building.
You ask the prime minister questions every day. Now who talks to the president? We need to revolutionise things if Nigeria must work. We need to make things work. We need Nigerians to be comparable to others in the world and make us proud. If our economy is working and there is good government we will be respected elsewhere. We are talented. Look at Nollywood and music. We have the population and we usually do well if things are in their right places.
How do you evaluate the Israeli, Hamas war?
It’s a disgrace that Israel is bullying Hamas and the world. I think they were sick of being bullied and I stand with Hamas who are being oppressed. The world stood with the Jews in 1945 and that is what led to the creation of the state of Israel, the same thing this people want. The world should allow both to have their separate states. Palestine’s lands have been occupied for years, if the world powers are fair, they should allow the Palestinian state too to balance the equation.
As it stands today, Israel has 90 per cent of the land in dispute and I think it’s time the United Nations wake up to face reality. The United States and UK can’t be supporting Israel to kill this people. Where is humanity? It’s so unfair.
The United Nations needs to democratise too. There is no way only a few countries have permanent voting rights or veto powers. Only five countries have the veto power. It has to be democratised. If they don’t agree and I was to be president, African countries would leave the UN. We can develop among ourselves. We are not really independent and they are the ones who determine everything. That’s wrong.
