Are We Really Better off Now than in 2011? (Lll)

In addition, historical deficits in our military institutions including the fact that the last significant procurement of equipment was done over two decades ago, the inability of the government to buy the weapons needed in a timely manner, the need for a philosophical as well as operation shift from conventional warfare to asymmetric warfare in towns and communities teeming with millions of civilians, the delay in securing a regional military cooperation as well as human rights accusations greatly affected the military campaign. Fortunately, with those challenges now resolved, the security situation is being reversed in an efficient and effective manner. The Nigerian military has restored peace and security in 36 towns that were under occupation by the terrorists. The men, women and children driven from their land are returning home. The government has also deployed counterradicalization and deradicalization mechanisms to stop the recruitment of new terrorists. Today, there are about 125 Almajiri schools and this means that young, promising boys will rather be found in schools than on the streets available to be recruited. Additionally, 9 out of the 12 newly established federal universities are in the Northern part of the country.

But while we are still on education, it is worth mentioning that the Federal Government has also consistently made huge investments in basic education through counterpart funding grants by the Universal Basic Education Commission to states and local governments. The Tertiary Education Fund (TETFUND) has made our universities, polytechnics and colleges of educationfederal and state – to once again become institutions of research and advanced learning. Their laboratories and research capabilities have been greatly enhanced in the last 4 years. Again, In addition, historical deficits in our military institutions including the fact that the last significant procurement of equipment was done over two decades ago, the inability of the government to buy the weapons needed in a timely manner, the need for a philosophical as well as operation shift from conventional warfare to asymmetric warfare in towns and communities teeming with millions of civilians, the delay in securing a regional military cooperation as well as human rights accusations greatly affected the military campaign. Fortunately, with those challenges now resolved, the security situation is being reversed in an efficient and effective manner. The Nigerian military has restored peace and security in 36 towns that were under occupation by the terrorists. The men, women and children driven from their land are returning home. The government has also deployed counterradicalization and deradicalization mechanisms to stop the recruitment of new terrorists. Today, there are about 125 Almajiri schools and this means that young, promising boys will rather be found in schools than on the streets available to be recruited. Additionally, 9 out of the 12 newly established federal universities are in the Northern part of the country. But while we are still on education, it is worth mentioning that the Federal Government has also consistently made huge investments in basic education through counterpart funding grants by the Universal Basic Education Commission to states and local governments. The Tertiary Education Fund (TETFUND) has made our universities, polytechnics and colleges of educationfederal and state – to once again become institutions of research and advanced learning. Their laboratories and research capabilities have been greatly enhanced in the last 4 years. Again,don’t take my word for it, stop by any of them and see for yourself.

I end as I must with the National Conference 2014 which was convened by President Jonathan. It was very symbolic in a number of respects. First, it defied the odds that such a Conference could be convened with such a diverse group of Nigerians. Previous attempts at a National Dialogue had excluded certain segments of the society for fear of the unknown. Secondly, the rigour in the debates at plenary as well as in the committees was very reflective of today’s Nigeria for our tomorrow. Thirdly, the means of resolving the most contentious issues were managed in such a manner to prove that we have come of age. Fourthly, the depth and quality of the Resolutions revealed the vast frontiers of our possibilities as a nation. Finally, the successful end to the Conference proved that Nigerians can indeed talk amongst each other and come to reasonable conclusions without rancour or division.

It was indeed a good array of Nigerians who might not have made it to the Conference through elections, not because they cannot win at such elections but due to the frailties and inadequacies of our electoral process at the present times. After four and half months of rigorous negotiations, discussions and debates, the National Conference submitted its Report to the President with over 600 Resolutions. These Resolutions addressed a wide range of economic, political and social issues and they were compartmentalized into three areas: constitutional, legal and policy. It is indeed a long list of revolutionary decisions that have embedded in them the architecture of a new Nigeria. Our country must always be one that takes a long look at the future. One fundamental basis for progress and development in a society is the need for a Compact, according to which human beings begin as individuals in a state of nature, and create a society by establishing a contract whereby they agree to live together in harmony for their mutual benefit, after which they are said to live in a state of society. Such a National Compact, which can also be referred to as a Social Compact, is not a just document written by the government as a development agenda and passed on to the people. It is also not just a country’s Constitution, even though it can be embedded in the Compact. According to Yeoh Lam Keong, the Vice President of the Economic Society of Singapore, “without a healthy and stable social compact, the social cohesion needed for national identity and belonging is precarious. Political legitimacy and its vital twin, trust in governance institutions and policy, likewise tends to become weak and dysfunctional. A healthy social compact is therefore fundamentally necessary if we are to make a successful transition to a viable, resilient and cohesive nation.” The process for developing such a Compact varies but one very acceptable means is through a national dialogue such as the National Conference 2014.

Just as the framers of the United States constitution, yes, the delegates to the Conference were not elected too. But the spread and quality of their representation confers a lot of legitimacy to the outcome of their deliberations. We, the people, should now own it. It should be a first major step to our social compact and the evolution of the Nigeria of our dreams and it stands to the credit of this President.

So are we really better off now than we were 4 years ago? My straight answer is, yes, and the facts speak for themselves. Recall that I began with a reference to a child born in a rural village in Nigeria. Let us remember this child and then our broader goals of modernizing our society, enthroning social justice, ending poverty and creating equal opportunity for all will be very achievable. That is why the outcome of this presidential election matters. We should re-elect President Goodluck Jonathan. He has kept our economy on a path to sustained and sustainable growth. He has strengthened institutions of governance to give power to the people. He has reversed the situation especially in the North East towards achieving long-term peace and security. He has brought Nigerians together to dialogue on our past, present and future. We should not take the work done and the results it produced in the past 5 years for granted. We should look to the future with the knowledge that we will always do better and that beneath the surface lies the fate of individual human beings like that child born today.