10 sectors of the Nigerian economy in which the federal government desperately needs to declare a state of emergency but alas they have been overlooked

Ayo Akinfe

[1] Rural roads: Do you know that about one third of Nigerian farm produce goes to waste due to poor transportation facilities? In many parts of the country, farms are inaccessible during the rainy season

[2] On-farm storage facilities: We desperately need every one of our 774 local government areas to open a mega silo and food storage facility to combat the high level of waste due to inadequate storage and refrigeration facilities

[3] Food security: With a population of 200m, Nigeria simply has to be wholly self-reliant when it comes to food security. At the moment, we still import large amounts of sugar, rice, wheat, fish, milk, etc

[4] Animal husbandry: We need to build six mega ranches in Borno, Niger, Taraba, Kaduna, Yobe and Zamfara states. They should become purpose-built towns where we move every nomadic Fulani herdsman to. These towns should have veterinary clinics, leather factories, milk processing plants, tanneries, abattoirs, etc

[5] Security: Nigeria ranks 147 out of 163 nations on earth when it comes to insecurity. Kidnapping, armed robbery, terrorism, banditry, rape, communal violence, etc, are all very rife

[6] Petroleum output: Historically, Nigeria’s crude oil production has been 2.5m barrels a day. Today, as a result of under-investment, insecurity, pipeline vandalism, theft, etc, our output has dropped to 1.9m barrels a day

[7] Manufacturing: Our population has given us no option but to become a major manufacturer of consumer goods like laptops, mobile phones, plasma TVs, fridge-freezers, automobiles, air conditioners, tyres, etc. As things stand, we are in dire straits as factories are relocating from Nigeria

[8] Electricity distribution: This is arguably our biggest challenge as a nation. We need to distribute about 50,0000MW of power annually but currently only manage about 5,000MW. We desperately need to woo investors into the sector

[9] Steel production: No country can industrialise without steel. Nigeria has three major plants as Ajaokuta, Aladja and Oshogbo all lying idle. We need to produce at least 20m tonnes a year

[10] Railway network: It should shame us that Nigeria has only got a 3,600km railway network, compared with Egypt’s 7,024km, Pakistan’s 7,791km, Kazakhstan’s 15,530km, Iran’s 16,998km, South Africa’s 20,953km and Mexico’s 23,389km

Surely, the federal government should deem it fit to declare a state of emergency in all these sectors. I believe they are more pressing than the dispute between Fubara and Wike.

ayoakinfe@gmail.com