I would just love it if all the major political gladiators could sign a Contract With Nigeria committing them to addressing these 10 major priorities in 2027

Ayo Akinfe

[1] Ending the current insecurity epidemic. There are 6m illegal weapons in the country at the moment and criminals are having a field day. This needs urgent addressing with the launch of an amnesty and collection programme

[2] Putting out all the ethnic fires currently raging across the country. Ethnic mistrust is now such an issue, it virtually impossible to have any serious national debate on any subject without attracting suspicion

[3] Solving our power crisis. Nigeria needs about 50,000MW but only generates 7,000, of which she can only transmit 4,000MW. Coming up with an ambitious distribution and transmission strategy is the number one priority for now

[4] Devolving power to the states. The current unitary structure centred around the federal allocation formula is unsustainable. Since the promulgation of Major General Thomas Aguiyi Ironsi’s Decree 34 in 1966, Nigeria has been in trouble. Each of our 36 states has got to become self-reliant and generate a surplus

[5] Diversifying the economy. Currently, over 90% of federal government revenue comes from crude oil receipts. That figure needs to be no higher than 10%

[6] Regulating religion. We have all seen how an extremists emerge as governors, senators and ministers. To combat this alarming trend, we need to curb the spread and influence of religion. We are a secular country and need laws enforcing that

[7] Getting all the dead capital we are sitting on invested in the economy. How do we get investors to pour capital into manufacturing? I would start with our millionaire clergymen. According to the African Development Bank, we have an annual infrastructural investment deficit of $100bn

[8] To become a manufacturing nation, you need power, crude oil, steel and skilled manpower. Of all of these, the one area where we are most lacking is steel production. By my calculations, Nigeria needs to produce about 20m tonnes of steel annually

[9] There are so many car accidents in Nigeria today because too many journeys needlessly take place by road. We need a national railway plan to move freight off roads and to boost train travel by about 500%

[10] Nigeria will never become an industrial hub unless her ports are accessible. We have 853km of Atlantic coastline but only one properly functioning port. Calabar, Port Harcourt, Ikot-Abasi and Warri all need to be brought up to the same level as Apapa immediately

ayoakinfe@gmail.com

www.ayoakinfe.com