Faced with the twin threat of insecurity and economic strangulation from Covid-19 should our National Assembly not pass legislation putting Nigeria on a war footing

Ayo Akinfe

(1) When I look at the current collapse in global production figures, the last time we witnessed anything similar was during World War Two. In Nigeria today, we are kind of where Europe was in 1940 when industrial output slumped, there was food rationing, Home Guards and partisan militias needed to be formed to combat the threat of insecurity and the future looked very bleak. However, by 1943, the tables had been turned and industrial output was at an unprecedented high

(2) Most of Europe was under German occupation between 1940 and 1945, so they went to hell and back. However, the one European nation that remained free from Nazi rule and continued fighting Germany, Britain, got through its darkest hour by introducing emergency legislation that placed the country on a perpetual war footing. Nigeria’s National Assembly should look at passing similar laws as it is apparent that President Buhari is totally oblivious to what is going on. Trying to force the presidency to act is just naive and futile. President Buhari’s body language has made it clear he is not going to do anything

(3) Nothing stops the National Assembly passing a bill empowering every state governor to create a Home Guard to protect its people against Fulani herdsmen, armed bandits, kidnappers and Boko Haram insurgents. Nature abhors a vacuum, so a Home Guard built along the lines of Amotekun is the only way we are going to prevent the likes of Sunday Igboho and Nnamdi Kanu from filling the space

(4) An Industrial Emergency Bill also needs to be passed setting manufacturing production quotas for each of our 36 states

(5) An Emergency Food Bill also needs to be passed, established agricultural production quotas. Under this law, all farms will be protected by the National Guard who will be given authority to open fire on any herdsman who encroaches on farming facilities

(6) State ranches will also be established. Any cattle found grazing outside these official ranches should immediately be confiscated by the Home Guard and slaughtered. Such meat shall be served to the public at specially established state feeding centres

(7) All imports will be suspended from henceforth. Nigeria simply does not have the foreign exchange to spare. All importers must be charged with trying to produce what they purchase from abroad

(8) A top tax bracket of 60% shall be created for the well-off. Revenue raised will be put into an industrial fund as part of a plan to force local production. Nigeria simply needs to manufacture her way out of this crisis

(9) There will be a blanket ban on the export of all primary commodities. To qualify for export, every good must have at least 50% value addition

(10) Prisoner of war camps will be established where captured Boko Haram insurgents, Fulani herdsmen, kidnappers and armed bandits will be put to work. After World War Two, Europe was rebuilt by German prisoners of war. We need to do something similar here as we face the same threat