USA Africa Dialogue Series - FUEL THIS LIGHT‹Re: My column on Thursday 28th May 2015:THE KING IS DEAD LONG LIVE THE KING!

President Buhari is Elder. 

He knows well the form of Nigeria. 

He will make those efforts he can. 

He needs our encouragement. 

We must give it in what ways we can. 

Always there is Light in Darkness. 

Tis up to us to fuel this Light and help 

Extend its range. 

May the Creator help and protect us all.

Best,  Baba m

From: Prof Ayo OLUKOTUN <ayo_olukotun@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: Prof Ayo OLUKOTUN <ayo_olukotun@yahoo.com>
Date: Wednesday, 27 May 2015 10:10
To: Michael VICKERS <mvickers@mvickers.plus.com>, Prof Toyin FALOLA <toyinfalola@austin.utexas.edu>, USA-AFRICA dialogue <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>, Tade Aina <tadeakinaina@yahoo.com>, Taiwo Owoeye <sistertees@hotmail.com>, takehinde <takehinde@yahoo.com>, Adebayo <adebayow@hotmail.com>, Adebayo Olukoshi <olukoshi@gmail.com>, Adigun Agbaje <adigunagbaje@yahoo.com>, Akinjide OUNTOKUN <josuntokun@yahoo.com>, Akinlawon Mabogunje <mabogunje1931@yahoo.com>, akin osuntokun <akinosuntokun@yahoo.com>, Alaba OGUNSANWO <alabaogunsanwo@gmail.com>, alade rotimi-john <rotimijohnandcompany@gmail.com>, Attahiru Jega <attahirujega@yahoo.com>, Attehsun <attehsun@yahoo.com>, Oluwayomi D ATTE <david_atte@yahoo.com>, "Dr O.A. DOSUMU" <toksx@yahoo.com>, Segun Awonusi <segunawo@yahoo.com>, Babatunde Oluwafemi <awominuretunde@gmail.com>, Dr Banji OYEYINKA <boyeyinka@hotmail.com>, Benjamin Olatunji Oloruntimehin <ben_olatunji2003@yahoo.com>, BGI Legal <bgilegalservices@gmail.com>, bolaji akinyemi <rotaben@yahoo.com>, Bose <bose@pindfoundation.org>, Obadare Ebenezer Babatunde <obadare@ku.edu>, Obadiah Mailafia <obmailafia@gmail.com>, Ogunfolakan Adisa <babaadii@yahoo.com>, Okey Ibeanu <oibeanu@yahoo.co.uk>, Ladipo ADAMOLEKUN <dipo7k@yahoo.com>, Dr Olajumoke YACOB-HALISO <jumoyin@yahoo.co.uk>, Prof Tunde BABAWALE <tunde_babawale@yahoo.com>, Chibuzo NWOKE <chibuzonwoke@yahoo.com>, "Chukwuma, Innocent" <innocent.chukwuma@fordfoundation.org>, cyril obi <cyrilobi@hotmail.com>, Raufu Mustapha <raufu.mustapha@qeh.ox.ac.uk>, "Dr.Remi SONAIYA" <remisonaiya@yahoo.com>, Prof Richard JOSEPH <r-joseph@northwestern.edu>, Reuben Abatti <abati1990@yahoo.com>, Emmanuel Remi Aiyede <eaiyede@yahoo.com>, Ibrahim Gambari <Ibrahim.gambari@gmail.com>, Prof I Olawole ALBERT <ioalbert2004@yahoo.com>, Pa Uoma <pauoma@gmail.com>, Paddy <paddykay20o2@yahoo.com>, Prof Bayo ADEKANYE <profbayo_adekanye@yahoo.com>, "Prof. Funmi Adewumi" <funmi.adewumi@elizadeuniversity.edu.ng>, Prof Alli <alliwo@yahoo.co.uk>, bukky dada <bukkydada@hotmail.com>, Bunmi Makinwa <bunmimakinwa@hotmail.com>, Gabriel Ogunmola <gbogunmola@yahoo.com>, <ggdarah@yahoo.com>, Grace Edema <gmso200212@gmail.com>, "Haastrup, Deji Olaolu" <deji@chevron.com>, Hafsat Abiola <hafsatabiola@hotmail.com>, Femi Falana <falanalagos@yahoo.com>, Femi Osofisan <okinbalaunko@yahoo.com>, Fola Osuntokun <fola.osuntokun@gmail.com>, Francis Ojo <ojofrank@gmail.com>, Francis Egbokhare <foegbokhare@yahoo.com>, Freke Ette <nette@uh.edu>, Kehinde Emoruwa <emoruwaok@yahoo.com>, Koyinsola Owoeye <stiker88@hotmail.com>, Kwame Karikari <afumkarikari@gmail.com>, Lai Olurode <olurode@yahoo.com>, <lajinadu@yahoo.com>, "Prof Eghosa E. OSAGHAE" <osaghaeeghosa@yahoo.co.uk>, Mamora <senatormamora@yahoo.com>, Margaret Ayansola <mdayansola@gmail.com>, Nduka Otiono <Nduka.Otiono@carleton.ca>, Niyi Osundare <oosunda1@uno.edu>
Subject: Fw: Fwd: My column on Thursday 28th May 2015:THE KING IS DEAD LONG LIVE THE KING!

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld from Glo Mobile.

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From: Akinjide OUNTOKUN <josuntokun@yahoo.com>

Date: Wed, 27 May 2015 09:45:47 +0100

To: Nigerian Academy of Letters<nigerianacademyofletters@gmail.com>; ayo_olukotun@yahoo.com<ayo_olukotun@yahoo.com>; akinosuntokun@yahoo.com<akinosuntokun@yahoo.com>; munzali@gmail.com<munzali@gmail.com>; olu obafemi<omoajon@yahoo.com>

Subject: Fwd: My column on Thursday 28th May 2015:THE KING IS DEAD LONG LIVE THE KING!

Regards,

Prof Jide Osuntokun

Emeritus professor of History and International Relations

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: Akinjide OUNTOKUN <josuntokun@yahoo.com>
Date: May 24, 2015 at 9:14:12 PM WAT
To: Sanya Oni <sanyaoni@yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: My column on Thursday 28th May 2015:THE KING IS DEAD LONG LIVE THE KING!

I remember president JF Kennedy's  famous and everlasting inaugural speech  on that wintry morning of January 1961 when as the youngest president of the USA said among other things how the work of government is never done not in one term or even according to him in our life times . It was prophetic statement because he was soon cut down by an assassin's bullet even before he finished the first term . Of course he said other things like ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country . He idealistically said that American's foes and friends alike should know that the baton  of the defense of freedom has been passed  on to a new generation of Americans nurtured in war and ready to pay any price in the defense of  liberty and freedom where ever they are threatened. Americans lapped it up especially coming from the mouth of the dangerously handsome young president . No American president can say that today and be applauded unless of course those Americans on the lunatic fringe of the Republican Party and their running dogs in the so called Tea Party.
When a king or Queen dies in England the continuity in government is captured by the saying the king is dead long live the king . Amongst the Yoruba the same sentiment is contained in the statement Baba ku Baba ku meaning father has died but he lives on in the next oldest member of the family . All these preambular statements are to emphasize that the work of government is continuous and is never completely done by any regime. This is  however not an excuse for inertia or clueless performance .
The government of Jonathan now belongs to History and when the dust has settled and the healing hands of time has passed  over the events of recent times ,the judgement on his regime may or not be severe. The usefulness of such historical judgement will serve as a warning or compass to the successor regimes . What we can call instant history is that the Jonathan administration   has fallen bellow expectation . This apparent failure can be seen in the collapse of the economy less than a year after the current reduction in crude oil price. What this means is that we were eating our fruits and seeds at the same time like a foolish farmer . Many critics including this writer had warned ad nauseam that the drunken financial fashion the country was being run was not sustainable . The stupendous salaries and allowances paid to members of the executives and legislators at Local . State and Federal levels were  heavy enough to sink the ship of state .Now chicken has come home to roost . There is no fuel to run our homes and the national economy . Power generation is now just over 1000  megawatts that is one thousand megawatts and with no diesel the country would soon grind to a halt . Recently I went to ABUJA and in the absence of aviation fuel I had to return to Lagos by road something I had not done in twenty years.Most states of the federation stopped paying salaries since January with the consequence of parents being unable to pay their children's school fees . Since quite a large percentage of  parents now send their children to fee paying private primary , secondary and tertiary institutions  many young people are at home idling their lives away. The result of growing unemployment and underemployment  is armed robberies complicating the already existing insecurity problems associated with Boko haram and cattle rustling in the northern part of the country . Even the apparent reduction of militancy in the Niger Delta creeks is still early to be celebrated  and the spreading spate of kidnappings for ransom constitutes reason for worry . The infrastructural deficit on our roads ,rail ,sea ports and the danger of inadequate aviation infrastructure are enough to overwhelm any government .
Does it then mean that the outgoing administration was an unmitigated failure?the answer is not clear cut. What is clear is that the administration is not ending well in view of the fact that the country has ground to a halt . There is no electric power from the companies allegedly fronting for political big wigs and there is no diesel to power individual generators and even those who have not been paid for six months by their governments have no money to buy petrol and diesel  if they are available and they are not. I feel sorry for the outgoing president that he is ending his regime in a whimper and in an anticlimax.The only positive thing this government will be remembered for is the Almajiri schools inadequte as they may be in number . Certainly not the mushroom universities established for political considerations and the welter of private universities for profit licensed by the Jonathan administration .
But what is to be done? The Buhari admnistration  can not be expected to perform a miracle when it is burdened by local and foreign debt of over 60 billion dollars .It can at the same time not fold its hands and do nothing. It must not take on too many things at the same time but should tackle the problems one at a time unless where the problem has interlocking relationship for example the problem of power has bearing on appropriate pricing of petroleum products. Security and infrastructure are related and so is security and employment . Money ,lots of it will be needed  to tackle the myriad of problems facing the country.we must move away from  a situation where only salaried workers  alone pay taxes while the rich  and the famous hardly pay taxes . If people do not pay taxes then they won't have a sense of ownership of the government . No matter how small , people would have to pay something to fund their government . VAT must also be increased substantially  because these are in most cases luxury taxes on the class most able to bear them . I have said this before states should be advised to levy property and land use taxes to run their governments rather than  relying on  federal allocations which are really unearned petrol commissions.
It is very gratifying to note that  the in coming government says it will focus on agriculture and solid minerals exploitation . I will want to enter a caveat here. We heard this before . If we are going into agriculture it must be massive agricultural business through loans to young graduates who want to go into the business as well as loans  to existing farmers who have proved their ability and seriousness . Government must prohibit imports of agricultural products where we have comparative advantage . We should not be importing vegetable oils and rice. We should stop importing wines ,champagne and hard liquors in order to conserve our foreign reserves and restore sanity to our country especially our youths who are on slippery slope to drunken degeneracy .we must ensure that our concentrating on solid mineral exploitation is not another Abacha freebies given  to powerful and well connected people in the name of solid mineral exploitation . In this regard let big foreign companies be invited and provided tax holidays to encourage them to get involved in our new plans.
Let the new administration recover  as much money  as possible from what have been stolen and use the proceeds to embark on massive public works by direct labour of our youth . This will generate enthusiastic support for the government and reduce youth anger and unemployment . The first one hundred days will be crucial and government must ensure that  it is not business as usual . We can no longer afford this and we have lost so much grounds already and the people can no longer wait for action to tackle the problems of this country . We are down and it can not be worse than this and we can only go up . The best way to start while the iron is hot is to eliminate the so called oil subsidies that have ended subsidizing the lavish and opulent life styles of politicians, plutocrats and oil oligarchs in our country. Everybody is fed up with the humiliating scarcity of fuel in an oil producing country and if the only way to solve this problem once and for all is to throw importation and sale of refined petroleum  open to all who have the capacity while fixing our refineries ,then that is the reasonable thing for government to do  and  the question of subsidies will  be gone for ever
Finally what is left for most of us  to do is to wish our former president Jonathan,good luck in the years ahead and president Muhammadu Buhari Godspeed in the journey of piloting the ship of state

Regards,

Prof Jide Osuntokun
Emeritus professor of History and International Relations
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