The Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief, Guardian Newspapers, Martins Oloja, has charged the Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration to adopt the private sector approach to put the nation on a steady path to achieve economic growth and development, noting that the model would prioritise the welfare of electorates.
He urged the new administration to also prioritise efforts in nation building more than ever before, explaining that the nation has been divided as a result of ethnic bias and other socioeconomic and cultural factors.
Speaking at the investiture of new Executive of the Commerce and Industry Correspondents Association of Nigeria (CICAN) tagged the agenda “Setting for the new federal government administration” in Lagos, he stated the need to encourage the new administration to manage priorities in the public sector as if it were in the private sector.
“Let me quickly clarify this: it is important to adopt the private sector approach and see citizens as customers to be satisfied. Marketers are always told in a customer-centric business that the customer is king. In this construct, the citizen should be seen by political leaders as a customer whose rebellion or boycott can destroy a business enterprise. When political leaders begin to see the citizen as a customer whose patronage is necessary to survive, they will begin to treat the people as potential electorate they will depend on to win elections next time,” he said.
“Prioritisation can be a device for policy-makers to realise political ambitions, or to signal policy shifts. However, prioritisation is also typically embedded in policy processes, either in a routine fashion or as responses to triggering events. Key challenges in this regard can be how to translate broad priorities into programs and projects, how to govern the knowledge base, and how to handle organisational tensions during implementation. Many of these challenges must be addressed by ‘street-level’ administrators and agency experts during implementation,” he advised.
He, however, stated that the removal of the petrol subsidy, the crashing or hike in the petrol price presently, as well as making petroleum products available are the immediate hurdles the new administration must resolve.
“Our new leaders should develop their own tactics to put across the sense of urgency and prove that they are materially attentive to the needs of their citizens,” he advocated.
On her part, the immediate past president, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mrs. Toki Mabogunje, explained that the rising debt profile of the country is worrisome, pointing out that the country is still being faced with forex liquidity concerns, contracting disposable incomes, rising inflation, escalating unemployment, business disruptions and investment uncertainties.
She emphasised the need for policymakers to expeditiously develop a framework that will ensure the country has a well-diversified revenue base, stressing that this imperative for macroeconomic stability.
“There is a need to deepen efforts to improve investment in human capital development, particularly education and health. There is a strong imperative for mass employment of our teeming population, which in turn will have a positive effect on the current insecurity problems facing the country. The imperative of self-reliance with respect to food security and energy security,” she advised.
She, however, said the Media is critical for public policy advocacy to be truly effective, saying that the importance of the role of the media in the process of disseminating policy-related information through the communications media, especially where the aim is to effect action, a change of policy or to alter the public’s view of issues cannot be over emphasised.
“This is where the CICAN has such an important role to play in Nigeria’s democratic dispensation. CICAN was established in 1990, to enable the practice of Business Journalism, and it has maintained momentum and growth ever since, with its relationships with journalists throughout the country. The practice of economic journalism engages the analytical skills of the business journalist to report well on crucial economic issues, and provide citizens with an understanding of core social and economic realities (and values) that are needed to keep a democracy in place,” she stated.
The Former Ag Director General and Chief Executive Officer, FIIRO,Dr. Chima C. Igwe, said commerce and industry are the two sides of a coin and are known as the key drivers of any economy while the media (CICAN) are strategic players in actualizing both.
He noted that in the past few years, Nigeria and Nigerians experienced a sudden and significant drop in economic activities which led to the loss of the purchasing power of the currency, the Naira, but although, has been able to exit the recession, warning that the strangling effects might still be seen lingering with the possibility of a relapse if the nation does not diversify.
“For national growth and development, national security and economic recovery and diversification, research and development in the fields of science, engineering, technology and innovation must be at the forefront because it is the very foundation of any successful industrial revolution and industrialization. It is practically impossible to envision a life today without a reliance on science technology and innovation in our everyday life,” he advocated.
He maintained that Science, technology and innovation (STI) is a very crucial cross-cutting sector in all developmental efforts of any nation if it is to be sustainable.
He commended CICAN for organizing the event, saying that subsequent general meetings of CICAN will enable the association to push for, monitor and interrogate the agenda for the new Administration.
Earlier, the president, CICAN, Mr. Charles Okonji, called on the government at all levels to retool, revamp and rejig the nation’s ailing economy while also calling the new president to focus on working the talk and delivering on the promises of his administration.