SOLUTION CONVERSATIONS

Common Grounds

There are many Nigerians, willing, able and desiring to work for a better country. And likewise, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of groups, clubs, platforms, individuals and entities seeking progress in our country. The State of Nigeria is synonymous with the people of Nigeria. Governments come and go but the State remains. The State is the people. Without Nigerians, there will be no Nigeria. It is we the people who own and should determine the path and destiny of Nigeria.

One of the fundamental pillars of any movement is that members have unison of purpose. Any number may come together under one platform to achieve a purpose. This unison of purpose is most necessarily based on a common understanding, a shared view of the purpose or plan to be achieved.

In our country presently, the problems are glaring, spanning both the public and private sectors. Everything is not working, or not working properly. Education, Health, Power, Sports, Agriculture, Transport, etc are now mere headings in the national budgets. Shamefully we continue in the stride, “Giant of Africa”, a giant in population without basic services and amenities, importing 90% of what it consumes.

The solutions to our national challenges are equally glaring. Seemingly, “we know what to do but lack the will to do them”. Constantly we are barraged with news of wrong doing by the successive “governments” that have conducted our affairs. But the people remain silent, not knowing that there is a difference between the State and the Government. Indeed, the only challenge we have to overcome as a country is that which disallows our unity of purpose. And perhaps the agents of disunity, who divide us along political, ethnic, tribal and religious lines, will continue to succeed until we find our common grounds.

We the people, Fellow Nigerians, we, must define our common grounds before we can unite around them, in order to address our common challenges. Leadership failure has been ascribed as one of the main challenges to national development in our country. Like much of Africa, we have had bad leaders. And also like much of Africa, we have not been able to get rid of them, to the detriment of the continent.

But as bad as our leaders have been, we too, the led, have been worse. We have failed to assert ourselves. We have failed to protect and preserve our State and country. We have lacked the unison of purpose to oust our bad leaders. Indeed, we have not been able to set a course by which to measure or judge leadership. We are yet to answer the question, what do we, the People, the State, want? Perhaps it is only when we can determine what we want, that we can determine what we want from leadership. It is only then that we can achieve the necessary sense of purpose to collectively pursue our objectives and reverse our decline.

If we the people can articulate our common grounds, then we will be able to request it of our leaders and those we place in positions of authority. In this regard, there is a need for all groups, platforms, individuals and entities to unite under one purpose, one set of objectives. An effort must be made for all groups, clubs, platforms, people and entities to come together and apply their various expertise and knowledge in this essential task of setting a common front. What do we want?

The Charter

A Charter is defined in the Cambridge dictionary as a formal statement of the rights of a country’s people, or of an organization or a particular social group, that is agreed by or demanded from a ruler or government. There are many examples of this throughout the history of mankind, where, in most cases, such Social Contracts have founded nations and national development.

Desirous of attaining the prerequisite unison of purpose necessary in a movement of this nature, an attempt is made to lay the foundations by creating a Charter. A Charter that seeks to reflect the aspirations and national goals of the greater people of our country, in a manner that will allow for inclusiveness and universal participation.

This is obviously a work in progress, and we are all encouraged to make corrections where necessary by submitting observations and contributions in order to ensure a holistic document, reflective of the aspirations of the greater majority. Perhaps, we will be able to produce an agenda by which to measure the competence and capacity of those we entrust with our Government.

To achieve this, we shall adopt the list of areas/sectors earlier mentioned and apply same as a guide to detailing our proposals. It is hoped that all members and partners will join us in promoting these bare essentials and, where need be, contribute to the robustness of this Charter.

We the People of Nigeria propose to promote the following precepts as our Charter to guide those we intend to entrust with public office. This we do with the sole aim of securing national development for our country that we may once again become a nation and achieve sustainable national development for the benefit of all Nigerians at the Federal, State and Local levels of government.

We promote the establishment of agrarian communities across the country. These communities shall mirror the old agricultural backbone of the country as well as establish new ones. The Federal and State governments shall establish a joint platform to acquire clearing and ploughing machines and equipment for use in the six geopolitical regions in equal numbers. These equipments shall be deployed for the use of clearing Five Thousand Hectares of land in each State for agriculture. The crops planted shall be based on comparative advantage and shall mirror national requirements as factually determined by the Ministry of Agriculture and Bureau of Data and Statistics. Farmers and communities endowed with agrarian lands shall be encouraged to form communities and farming communes for this purpose where the State shall provide mechanisation in ploughing and reaping, whilst the communities provide manpower for all other processes including security and crop protection. A produce board shall be reconstituted to ensure quality and adequacy of processes before consumption by the general public and or export. This shall include price regulation based on quantity and quality, which shall be fixed universally for the whole country such that data compilations from this exercise may be used, along with other indices, in determining an adequate minimum wage for the nation.

Animal husbandry shall be engaged in the localities of current practice and land shall be dedicated for the planting and harnessing of feed as well as the creation of watering points for the animals in order to avoid the unnecessary movement of men and animals throughout the country that has continually brought communal clashes. In the alternative whilst the scheme is being deployed, all traditional routes used for perennial migration by herdsmen shall be determined and marked with a view to monitoring both animal and persons along the route and introducing measures that will aid the track such as education inputs for the herdsmen. The sale of livestock and meat shall be regulated by a constituted body in concert with the Vetnary body in the country such that each State will be charged to ensure adequate presence in all markets, abattoirs and outlets. This shall extend to all meat and fish in public circulation.

All waterways shall be tested and verified for contaminants that may be passed on to the general public or that may be harmful to marine life, and the source of same ceased. Contamination from oil spillage rampant in the oil producing communities shall be treated and a body involving the oil companies and local communities shall be constituted in concert with the relevant Federal counterpart agency for this to ensure the adequacy of the effort. In conjunction with this, all private enterprise in fish breeding in tank farms and likewise shall be registered into one body and approached collectively with a view to establishing bigger entities in the same business where best practices shall be engineered for both the enterprises and the quality of the product of the enterprise.

Arts

We promote the infusion of the Arts and Art forms into public life with a view to inspiring the younger ones in the community and those with a natural inclination. In this regard the Arts shall be divided into relevant categories reflective of their separable natures and content.

Animation and Cartoons

This is a most influential art form usually associated with television and or cinema. Local artists shall be encouraged to render works of inspiration for our children using local heroes. In this regard all cartoons of foreign origin except educational materials shall be banned from our studies and stations. Local participant artists shall be commissioned to render tales of our past heroes and peoples and narration of our histories from ancient empires to date. These shall be aired by our television stations between 4pm and 6pm on week days for our children and an annual competition shall be established with a trophy for the best narrative, artist, effects etc in this category.

Drama

This is another art form that has suffered much neglect in past decades and one which should be encouraged not only as a means of communicating important lessons and issues within the polity, but also as a means to educate and entertain the masses. A circuit shall be established to allow the movement of acts and troupes nationwide for performances and integrative purposes nationwide. A maximum of one troupe from each State shall be sponsored by government whilst private troupes shall also be allowed access to venues and the circuit on application.

Drawings and Paintings

This area shall inform the content of galleries and museums where such shall be in public display. Effort shall be made to have arts classes as part of the curriculum in nursery and primary schools, whilst making it part of the extra-curricular activity at the secondary school levels

Children and Youth Affairs

We promote the subject of Children and Youth Affairs in several layers of engagement. Primarily is the necessity of education which is not limited to the four walls of the classroom. Consequently, there shall be a national body of Boy’s scouts and Girl’s guide which shall be of universal application wherein though originating from the global body, local inputs shall be infused to adopt the concept of skills and knowhow to local realities.

We promote the erection of libraries in the ration of 1:100,000 population. These shall be paired with our literary societies and their foreign counterparts for the provision of books and content to be acquired tax free. These libraries shall be centrally located and if need be properties shall be acquired by governments for this purpose as it is in the “overriding interest” of the communities.

We promote the establishment of parks and playgrounds in every city, town and village in the ratio of 1:50,000 population. These shall include the basic essentials of swings and slides and the other prerequisites of a children’s park. Along with these shall be toy shops in recognition of the role toys play in broadening the horizons of children and their imaginations. Local production of toys shall be encouraged and where imported, it shall be tax free and the pricing shall be regulated to ensure affordability with only 10% profit margins.

We promote the establishment of sports leagues and leagues for other engaging activities such as Chess, Scrabble etc. (Treated below)

Sports and Recreation

We promote the universal creation of leagues culminating in Regional and National Championships in all sporting and recreational endeavours. This can be coordinated by the Federal Government but must necessarily originate from the States: gofiguresport.com

SPORTS AND RECREATION : Project Overview

The importance of sports and recreation as part of the social engineering of a community has been in practice globally for millennia, more crystallised by the athletes of Olympus and Gladiators of Rome. Sports and recreation exercise, relax and entertain society collectively and broadly (physically and psychologically), thereby creating social harmony, engaging the population whilst fostering collectivism for welfare and security. This is of grave importance in Nigeria as lack of such founding inputs remains contributory to the sweeping evil of radicalisation and insurgency.

Other benefits include, for the children, agility, balance and co-ordination (5yrs-10yrs), endurance, teamwork and comradery (11yrs-20yrs). Indeed, it is for this reason that Physical Education remains an intrinsic part of school curriculum, hence the saying, “exercise the body to exercise the mind”. Sports and recreation are also intrinsic aspects of school curriculum, hence the requirement of Physical Education i.e. PE, in school curriculum. Inter-school sports is a necessary continuum of that responsibility, in conjunction with extra-curricular activity for school aged children wherein future stars are supposed to emerge, as was the case in the past, e.g. Hakeem Olajunwo, in Basketball.

For adults, though sports can provide recreation, it enhances blood flow, muscle tone and the general wellbeing and functioning of the body. Recreation on the other hand engages the community outside the work environment.

Currently population statistics and dynamics suggest that over 70% of the population of the nation, is under the age of 40 (forty), requiring social engineering mechanisms in the immediate. The provision of sports and recreation is imperative, not only for the benefit of the children and schools within the State, but also for the benefit of the various communities that constitute the State, especially in the wake of rampant radicalisation and other insurgent activity in many neighbouring States. This gives focus to the pertinent need to address the content and costs of socialisation for this segment of society, especially in the wake of increased disparity and hardship in the country.

Globally, based on the inherent and inhibitive costs associated with the land and equipment requirements to satisfy the sports or recreation spectra without immediate returns on investment, especially for schools, community facilities are used to coordinate and deploy these inputs. These facilities host a wide array of sports and recreation activities, and leagues therein, for the benefit of the schools and greater community, in partnership with existing authorities.

Likewise in the State, the twin concepts of sports and recreation can be deployed in various forms and types in local communities or Local Government Areas within the State.

Project Opportunity

Great vacuum exists in the State in the area of sports and recreation. Most schools do not have the space or facilities to arrange for the Physical Education requirements of the school’s curriculum

Most communities equally do not have facilities available for sports or recreation, barring some elitist establishments and “gyms”, outside the affordable reach of the average citizen.

More importantly, and sadly, the entire focus of our sports and recreation efforts are all weighted on Football, to the exclusion of a wide spectrum of activities.

Integration of the stadium and other facilities which largely remain underutilised into the social engineering matrix and Social Infrastructure of the State.

Project Goal

Enable and enhance State school sports policy and programmes implementation
Expand the State sporting bouquet for schools and communities
Train sports personnel
Introduce Inter-School and community sporting and recreation activity leagues
Address youth restiveness through local activity and social engineering as bulwark against radicalisation and insurgent mobilisation
Introduce Boy’s Scouts and Girls Guides, and other social mechanisms
Provide circuit for NGOs, entertainers and other inputs
Commence the necessary congregation and collectivization of local communities for security and developmental initiatives
Create employment opportunities therein

Primary Project Objectives

THE STATE SCHOOLS SPORTS SCHEME

It is an old saying that “you exercise the body to exercise the mind”. The scheme is a system that allows pupils of schools within a Local Government Area, full access to the centres to part-take in any activity, collectively or individually, as prearranged with the schools, during school hours. This is in recognition of the obvious need to augment the efforts of the schools in the attempt to discharge the duties imposed by Physical Education as an inseparable part of school curricular. Each school identifies what activities it is willing to provide its pupils in each class and on what days. This is then programmed into an activity list which essentially allocates different time slots for different activities for different schools within each and every hour of daily operations. Two platforms will be considered for this scheme, i.e. the PE requirements of school curriculum, and extra-curricular activity.

THE STATE SPORTS AND RECREATION LEAGUES and THE STATE INTER SCHOOL SPORTS INITIATIVE

The creation of various leagues is paramount for continuity, universal participation and sustainability. There are two immediately recognisable leagues i.e. that for the schools and the other for the local teams. The leagues will cover all sporting and non sporting activity including Volleyball, Pool, Darts, Badminton, Draughts, etc and will equally cover all ages and levels to involve the whole society. The idea here thus involves the use of the facilities as social engineering mechanisms in moulding the character of the area and its people. It is important to note that involving the youth in sporting activity may offer much in an otherwise uneventful existence. Equally the sports base of the environment will be invigorated and enabled not only for individual advancement but also for sports development in the state.

THE STATE TRAINERS TRAINING SCHEME

In recognition of the future demand that will be created by the successful implementation of this project and the present need for trained sports tutor and officials, the facility will play the necessary role of training, would-be, coaches and tutors in various activities for employment by schools, clubs and other facilities both public and private sector oriented, e.g. Lifeguards at public swimming pools, the provision of which is a statutory requirement hitherto not enforced. This is an area requiring full cooperation and collaboration by the authorities in ensuring that qualified personnel are employed in all aspects of physical education and recreation i.e. games masters are properly tutored in the sports they handle and first aid etc. Further the scheme allows for sports development in the State as such trainees will eventually operate in other parts of the State and impart such knowledge received. Thus skills acquisition, knowledge transfer etc, will be achieved not only in areas of recreation but also in the technical workshop in the facility.Legislation is anticipated in this area to guide and sustain such development which will create opportunities for our teaming youths.

THE RURAL ADVANCEMENT INITIATIVE - COMMUNITY PROGRAMME

Of importance here is the possibility of infusing Boys Scouts and Girls Scouts for the school aged children within every LG, and also other Edutainment platforms. The twin inputs of Boys Scouts and Girl Guides engineer sustainable opportunities for character moulding encompassing morals, values, communal living, security awareness, civic education, practical skills, survival skills, etc, but most importantly, discipline and conformity to constituted authority. This is the area that allows for the development of the community and the Social Infrastructure through creating venues for the discussion and application of local matters and encouraging congregation and collectivisation in the various localities with a view to derive maximum benefits in the area of service provision and social re-engineering, e.g. libraries, primary healthcare, etc. Equally, NGOs, Donor Agencies, Development Partners and International community will be availed of the opportunity to reach the local communities for programmes and investment in partnership with the State Government for the benefit of all through local pairing structures that will be encouraged in the localities.

Project Activity and Content

High Jump
Long Jump
Javelin
Discuss
Shot Put
All Track Events
Squash
Tennis
Table Tennis

Badminton
Board Games
Football
Rugby
Hockey
Volleyball
Handball
Basketball

Boys Scouts
Girls Guides
Community Based Health Insurance Programme
Drama, Comedy etc. performing Circuit
Music and invited performing Artists
NGO and Development Partner initiatives

There will be 4 categories of Centres, based on population and location, wherein activities will vary, i.e;

State Capital

Urban Areas

Semi-urban Area

Rural Areas

Thus beyond the core sports elements, the structures provided and inputs will vary from centre to centre depending on classification. However, as a standard across board, there will be a running track with the full compliments of field events and a sports field. This is to support the School and League Schemes in athletics (Physical Education), thereby laying adequate foundations for sustainability of the centres and continuity of sports development in the State.

In this regard, the one venue in each LG will serve all the sporting and recreational needs of the community. This is especially most important in the smaller towns, villages and rural areas where there is an imperative to capture the minds and time of the people through articulated activity, to avoid radicalisation of any section of the populace.

Project Benefits

The project will provide sports and recreation opportunities for the children and youth of the State and assuage radicalization of the youth and/or the growth of cults and gangs in the communities.

The project will re-introduce sports and recreation being primary and important social engineering mechanisms whilst congregating communities for other social inputs and anchoring of a Social Infrastructure.

The State will benefit from the school sports activity calendar that will be created for the State, involving both the Sports and Education ministries, and other sporting agencies and associations to create a tangible and physical sports base for the State and for future sports development.

The initiative will also enable the identification of future sports players and participants, by opening up the sector for universal participation. This in turn will have a positive impact on social welfare.

The multiplier benefit is that while jobs will be created during construction and operations of the facilities, the communities and greater populations will also have access to participate and enjoy sports and recreation for greater wellbeing.

Project Management Matrix

ENTITY	ROLE	RESPONSIBILITY	ACTIVITY
State Government	Project catalyst	Space/land allocations for venues. Facilitate adequate sponsorship and involvement of Development Partners.	Determine and designate venues and locations for the project. Ensure compliance by all the schools in the target areas and environs. Ensure effective functions of State ministries of Sports and Education in areas of inspectorates, compliance and enforcement. Provide adequate security. Encourage sponsorship and partnerships
Private Entities	Project developer, facilitator	Deployment and operations of all venues, content and applications.	Ensure smooth deployment and operations of the project. Ensure effective integration of schools, sports associations and communities on the activity platforms. Ensure standards and safety in all venues/centres.

Role Definition

State Ministry of Sports and School Board

Provision of Guidelines and definitions regarding;
Prerequisite sports activity level and variety satisfactory of the Physical Education requirements of school curriculum
Prerequisite formal qualification and experience requirements for coaching and tutoring in all cadres and types of sports and recreation activities
Monitoring compliance to stipulated requirements through
inspectorates and audit
Adequate graduating sanctions schedule for defaulting schools/tutors re respective requirements and non-compliance

State Ministry of Sports and State Government

Provision of locations and venues for the scheme in each locality
Provision of enabling legal environment for implementation of the schemes, including prerequisite legislature re entrenchment of definitions of Physical Education in school curriculum and attendant inputs
Provision of enforcement mechanisms re sanctions
Facilitation of sponsorship re platforms, programmes, Leagues and competitions
inspectorates and audit
Adequate graduating sanctions schedule for defaulting schools/tutors re respective requirements and non-compliance

Private Entities

Provision of equipment and content in venues and centres for the scheme and programmes
Sourcing, provision and deployment of qualified personnel for; i. Coaching and tutorials for curricular Physical Education requirements ii. Coaching and tutorial for extra-curricular activities
Coordination of school schemes, inter-school leagues and Trainer’ training scheme inputs
Coordination of other community activities and inputs, e.g. Boys’ Scouts and Girls’ Guides.
Coordination and integration of all sports Associations and recreational clubs
Coordination of activity circuits, leagues and programmes schedules

Project Critical Success Factors

Ensure quality-at-entry through clear definition of project components with the following indicators in place

Superior project design to enhance implementation performance with following indicators in place

Mobilization of financial resources with following indicators in place

ILLUSTRATIONS FIELD EVENTS

The primary element in Jumps is the mat or the sand pit, or better put, landing safely.

High Jump, Long Jump & Triple Jump

ShotPut & Discuss

(Hammer throwing and javelin will be adopted later)

TRACK/FIELD LAYOUT OPTIONS

TYPICAL TRACKS WITH GAMES FIELD INSIDE

Based on land availability and funds available, activity placement may vary, with 2 basic options, i.e. including the Field Events within the inner ring of the track with a separated playing field, or including a playing field in the inner ring of the track with the Field Events on the outside.

TYPICAL TRACK WITH FIELD EVENTS INSIDE

TEAM SPORTS

Hockey

Volleyball & Handball

Basketball

RACQUET SPORTS

Squash

Tennis & Badminton

OTHER ACTIVITIES

Table Tennis

Board Games

All the equipments and components used must be manufactured in Nigeria.

Family and Community Affairs

We promote the Family Unit to be the focal point of Government Services and attention. In this regard the full spectrum of family needs must be addressed, most especially Housing, Health and Food. In this regard, whilst we promote a national housing Scheme that should be based on prefabricated units which the occupant may wish to upgrade later, we also promote a national housing scheme that allows for multiple persons mortgage platforms instead of the restrictive and exclusive mortgage platforms existing currently. A family or group mortgage should be available where more than one person can make the payments as and at when due. The critical factor being the payment and not the capacity of the single occupant to pay. There are many people with able children, relatives and even friends that can make payments on their behalf, and such should be factored into the dynamics of mortgage provision nationwide. We also promote informal sector morrtgage platforms as seperate from formal sector platforms werely by the imposed requirements.

We promote the national deployment of the National Health Insurance Scheme Community Based Social Health Insurance Programme (CBSHIP) as mandatory for all Citizens of the Nigeria State. This will lay foundation for a robust health insurance scheme and ensure that majority seek medical attention in the appropriate locations, i.e. clinics and hospitals, to forestall any potential threat to the polity such as Ebola. The operational matrix of such an exercise can be managed using THE GATE® platform.

Communication

We promote the revival of the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) and the National Telecommunication Company (NITEL). Our greatest challenge in the area of communication is in the area of Social Infrastructure. Whilst NIPOST can be instrumental in service delivery, NITEL can be instrumental in service provision. We thus promote the use of NIPOST as anchor for public service delivery through outlets that provide the Citizen with access to Government services using hard copy formats, i.e. the Citizen can pick a form from any NIPOST outlet as an entry format to request, enquire and or complain about service delivery as earlier enumerated in the proposed new government matrix.

We promote the use of NITEL for public sector communication, including security and emergencies. We remain the only country that has abandoned the use of fax as a means of document transfer as we are totally reliant on the GSM and Internet platforms for communication, thereby disallowing critical flow of information through other means even though we have the capacities already installed at great public expense

Environment and Sanitation

We promote the collective focus on Sanitation and our environment. In this regard we promote the use of sanitation as a veritable tool for mass employment at the local levels. We promote the use of bin bags for the disposal of waste and promote the establishment of regional recycling plants to convert our waste into products and even electrical power.

We promote that an organisation, akin to the Civil Defence Corps should be constituted to enter our forests and interiors for security, ecological tests and fact finding objectives, as much is happening under our noses, only coming to the fore, after maturity, to destabilise the polity.

We promote the regulation of construction practices that affect our environment such as borrowing of laterite and sand which leaves areas of activity prone to erosion. We promote the creation of a combined team of both local and Federal agencies to monitor environmental degradation and ensure the eradication of stagnant water in our fight against malaria. This is to be joined with the continued clearing and cleaning of our gutters and sewage lines with teams of workers and inspectors to ensure continuity and sustainability.

We promote the review of Town Planning frameworks to curtail the excesses of Town Planners who distort our urban master-plans and create concrete jungles and slums for mercurial benefit. A total audit is in order wherein all defaulters should be jailed for prolonged periods to forestall this practice that affects us all

Defence

We promote the creation of a National Reserves Corp in every locality to support and augment our internal defence mechanisms and available forces. We add to this the creation of shooting ranges in every State for continued training and registration of all arms in circulation within the country, especially those under the control of paramilitary and vigilante groups/entities.

Education and Skills

We promote the revision of our school curricular to reflect our current needs and realities. In this regard we promote the re-introduction of History, to bind our polity, and Geography, to inform our polity, as mandatory courses in our schools. We promote the re-introduction of scholarships to schools to enable indigent students with high leaning quotients to afford decent education. Further to this, we promote the re-introduction of Physical Education as mandatory in our schools to expose the children to sporting activity beyond football. This can be done in conjunction with the Sports department and private entities through local/community centres where both the schools and general public can use facilities that would otherwise not be available due to costs and space.

We promote the revival of our technical schools and promote the focus of same to the manufacture of specific items in our industrial complex such that the reliance on importation may be reduced and local employment generated along with the attendant reduction in the trade deficits currently recorded. Skills.

We promote the focus on science in our schools and promote the introduction of same at the primary and early secondary levels to ensure a good foundation for same as opposed to the current practice of starting in SS1. In support of this we promote the establishment of companies licensed to provide laboratory equipment for all schools tax free which can be regionally based and remove the disruptive costs associated with the import of same.

We promote a re-appraisal of school fees in both private and public schools throughout the nation in order to adjust same to evident realities and not encourage parents into graft in the name of affording school fees.

Finance

We promote the capture and re-integration of our Shadow economy which out-sizes the official economy of the country. The funds outside official regulation and control amounts to twice our economy and effort must be made to bring this money back into “productive” circulation through investment platforms that focus on infrastructure and social investment.

We promote the proper scrutiny of the operational frame work of our banks with a view to drastically lower lending rates in conformity/parity with interest rates on deposits. We promote the use of local centres promoted by the proposed new government matrix to augment the verification processes for loans, especially those associated with government programmes and policies, to enable a broader platform for fiscal regulation in the polity and financial inclusiveness. Further is the enablement of Rural Banking using the NIPOST wide coverage to anchor the platform, thereby increasing financial inclusiveness and reactivating financial activity in the rural areas.

We promote the use of crowd funding in the deployment of critical infrastructure and social infrastructure/social investment in concert with Pension funds through REITS. We also promote a reappraisal of the capital markets and Stocks with a view to establishing “value” as the essence rather than figures, thereby ensuring local production capacities as opposed to import capacities as a driving force of profit. We also promote the creation of financial hubs and an upgrade of our financial platforms to be able to operate high volume international transactions without disruption.

We promote the internalisation of our fiscal platforms to enable the productive use of Local Capital and the integration of same with local labour for our industrial benefit through Public Private Peoples Partnerships.

Foreign Affairs and Trade

We promote the internalisation of our economics to enable the local hosting of “value” and reduce our dependence of imports, thereby addressing the trade deficit that trails our international trade. Our foreign affairs should be limited to catering to our Citizens abroad and striking alliances beneficial to our internal goals in the immediate as opposed to funding international and regional engagements, until we are out of the evident economic and social crisis at hand.

Health

We promote the introduction of a mandatory national health scheme that will have a Five Hundred Naira monthly entry fee. We promote the articulation of a dispensary network along with the re-verification of all pharmaceutical outlets nationwide. We promote the introduction of local laboratories and clinics where both public and private healthcare providers and facilities can be integrated onto one graduating platform covering the country, in order to provide every Nigerian affordable healthcare.

We promote the abolition of private practice by government employed doctors during official office hours and promote the reclassification of facilities to eliminate the use of the word “Hospital” to describe one bed facilities.

We promote the creation of jobs through tangible employment creation policies as opposed to the current “raffle draw” approach adopted in recent times. We argue the use of local manual labour in the deployment of critical infrastructure, social infrastructure and import replacement/substitution enterprise.

We promote the establishment of employment data banks for would be job seekers where information can be shared and opportunities universally published along with individual’s information and capacities. In this regard we promote the cessation of foreigners occupying jobs that Nigerians can do adequately.

We promote the regularisation of pay/salaries between government agencies and the creation of a national salary scale reflective of job description and input. And the concept of paying salaries bi-weekly needs examination.

Further to this, we promote the payment of all Pensions and Gratuities owed the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This failure continues to skew society.

Social Justice and Environmental Wellness

We promote the expansion of the office of the Legal Aid Council and the creation of the office of the Public Defendant which shall integrate local Bar Associations into a functional network for the Citizen and his/her rights.

We promote the war against drugs and gambling. Whereas rehabilitation is a major concern in addressing the issue of drug abuse, effective action in fighting the drug business in the country, a global hub, is more important now than ever. Indeed the business within our shores is much bigger than meets the eye, and of more economic import than most can imagine, especially so amongst our so called “Importers”, “Contractors” and “Traders”.

Another area of concern is the growing penchant for gambling in the polity, especially amongst and at the lower levels of society. The new ailment is called “Lottery”. Not only is this phenomenon wasting many able bodied citizens, the effect is telling on the polity as the concept of “get rich quick” has come to include this legalised form of gambling, and continues to gain momentum. More so, the space is unregulated and, much funds that could be invested socially, lost.

Public Sector Reform and Expenditure

We promote the universality of constituted authority and universal participation in the functions of constituted authority through the new government matrix and THE GATE® platform. As a matter of urgency we must re-establish constituted State authority, evaluating our governance and administrative tools, models, structures, systems and processes, to reflect the current needs of the people and the environment. Universal participation and coverage remain pertinent in achieving the prerequisite levels of probity required.

We promote the co-hosting of all government offices through one-stop-shops at the local levels using hard copy formats for access to all. Universal coverage and a drastic reduction of public spending. This is to stop the raping of the nation where less than 5% consume more than 80% of the annual budget in the name of “recurrent expenditure”, and also it will focus the public service MDAs on their core functions rather than seeking bloated budgets for capital expenditure. The new government matrix shall be adopted to enable and render this reform.

Regional, Rural and Community

We promote the equitable structuring of all localities in the country to reflect fairness and sustainability, especially in resource allocation. This touches on not only the number of Local Governments per State but also States per region. In this regard such structuring should be done along demographics rather than ethnic or special considerations with minor adjustments for size and nature of territory in order to assuage notions of inequality or marginalisation.

We promote the direct remittance of Local Government Funds to the Local Governments to stop this fraud perpetrated by the State Governors who pounce on these funds for personal benefit, and to the detriment of the people.

We promote the deployment of community centres and activity hubs to entertain, socialise and integrate our communities as well as enable the free flow of information which can be monitored for intel for our security services. The cost of socialising needs to be drastically reduced through social engineering mechanisms that enable the community to interact without prohibitive expenditure.

Transport

We promote the deployment of an additional 10,000 km of standard guage rail that will link cities and regions to ease the strain on our near collapsed roads. This shall be done using crowd/sukuk funding mechanisms and the integration of local labour with local capital.

We promote the use of our inland waterways using platforms that ensure benefit to communities where these waterways pass in terms of royalties thereby enabling buy-in from these communities and ensuring security.

We promote local manufacture of vehicles and parts for all moving equipment and transport in the country through the globally applied principle of separation and assembly, where component parts of a whole are separated and manufactured as single items then forwarded for assembly to the end manufacturer. For example, the average car has over 2000 parts which can create upwards of 1000 industries.

We promote a policy shift that taxes imported vehicles of all natures to the advantage of local manufacture whilst regulating the local manufacture to achieve price affordability, quality and safety.

Enterprise and Innovation

We promote the encouragement of our human resources in industry and ICT. In this regard, we promote the use of our local human resources in advancing our technology base and propelling our inventors and manufacturers no matter how basic their products. They will improve if patronised.

Electricity, Fuels, Energy

That the “Giant of Africa” can only generate 3000mW of electricity is disgraceful and most unfortunate. We promote the deployment of 50,000 mW of electrical power through crowd/sukuk funding mechanisms. In this regard we promote regional and State stations using Gas and Coal. The current companies that operate in this area obviously lack the capacity to do so and rather than inject resources, they are being granted “bail-out” funds from public coffers.

Gos availability can be assured through social engineering mechanisms that ensure royalties for areas where the pipes may pass in order to have community buy-in and ensure protection of facilities. Gas pipes are not as easily accessible as fuel lines due to the explosive nature of Gas.

Planning, Data and Statistics

The imperative of data and statistics in national planning has been all but lost, largely due to the fact that we are not planning any more but rather pandering to individual, group, tribal, ethnic and personal requests and desires as opposed to national interests.We must reposition our data and statistics collection and collation mechanisms and methodologies if we are to have any measure of accuracy in policy formulation, service delivery and citizen welfare.

We promote the aggressive pursuit of data and statistics through local engines supported by THE GATE® platform in order to acquire the prerequisite data necessary for adequate planning of our national development.

Though not the only means of gathering data, we promote that a new census shall be conducted in order to gather proper information to replace the largely discredited last Census effort conducted in 2007.

Science and Technology

We promote the involvement of governments across the three tiers of government in the country in the domestication, hosting and propulsion of science and technology in our communities and country primarily through education and facilities focused on same, e.g. Technical Schools etc.

We promote the establishment of a start-ups fund to support our young scientists, inventors and technicians who have products, designs and theories of national import.

Industry

We promote the revival of our Steel complex to found our industrial endeavours and, coupled with power/energy, propel industrialisation in the immediate. One wonders why we bother to discuss industrial development when our steel complex, driven by the Ajaokuta Steel Plant, the “bedrock of Nigeria’s industrialisation”, and including Warri, Katsina, Oshogbo and Jos, remain comatose. Some aspects of this complex, especially the necessary rail links to raw materials to feed the value chain companies, even to the sea port, remain uncompleted till date.