Nigeria making steady progress despite challenges – FCC chair

… as TASUED ANUPA confers awards on Gbenga Daniel, others

The Acting Executive Chairman of the Federal Character Commission (FCC), Hon. Kayode Oladele, has said that Nigeria is recording steady progress in key areas of governance despite grappling with serious challenges.

In his address at the Eminent Personality Forum organized by the Association of Nigerian University Professional Administrators (ANUPA), held at the Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijagun, Ogun State, Oladele, while speaking on the topic ‘Turning Crisis to Opportunity: The State of the Nation in Nigeria and the Way Forward’, admitted that though Nigeria is not yet where it should be, it is far from where it was when the administration of President Bola Tinubu came in.

The FCC chairman recalled the sordid condition the nation was in before May 2023, when President Bola Tinubu assumed office, with fuel subsidies consuming “over four trillion naira every year, enriching a few while starving our hospitals, schools, and infrastructure.”

“Foreign exchange system was broken; multiple rates created fertile ground for corruption. Debt service consumed nearly all government revenue. Oil production had collapsed due to theft and underinvestment. Inflation was high, insecurity was widespread, and our youths were living in despair under the japa wave.”

He also recalled how insecurity had reached alarming levels, with Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorizing communities displacing millions and destroying livelihoods in the North-East; how banditry and kidnappings had grown into a full-blown industry in the North-West, rendering roads unsafe; violent separatist agitations had disrupted commerce, shut down cities in the South-East creating fear among ordinary citizens, while in the Middle Belt, farmer-herder clashes intensified, leading to deaths, displacements and destruction of property.

“Even urban centres were not spared, as rising cases of kidnapping for ransom spread anxiety nationwide,” he noted.

But, according to him, with bold and focused leadership by President Tinubu through the Renewed Hope Agenda, the indices have changed substantially.

“The Renewed Hope Agenda is not just a policy document. It is the reflection of President Tinubu’s philosophy that we must bear short-term pain to secure long-term progress,” he noted.

Under President Tinubu, he said, democracy is being deepened through accountability. “Ministries now submit monthly performance reports. As a result, Nigerians can, for the first time, track government actions in real time.”

Oladele also noted that as a result of the government’s bold economic reforms, notably the removal of the fuel subsidies and floatation of the foreign exchange, the fiscal deficit has fallen considerably.

He noted that the current administration had deepened diaspora engagement, such that now “our diaspora sends home over $20 billion every year,” and are being repositioned as development partners.

On the economic front, according to the FCC chairman, the fiscal deficit has been reduced from 5.4 per cent of GDP in 2023 to 3 per cent in 2024.

He added: “Tax revenue has surged to over ₦21 trillion, while allocations to states have grown by more than 60 per cent, giving governors more resources to serve their people.

“Oil production, once crippled by theft and underinvestment, is now recovering, averaging about 1.5 million barrels per day.

“Housing and infrastructure are expanding. Under the Renewed Hope Housing Program, more than 10,000 new homes are under construction across 14 states and the FCT.”

He also listed several vital infrastructure development projects executed by the administration in every region, as well as efforts made to revive agriculture and substantial progress made in reining in the menace of insecurity in every region.

Above all, “corruption, the cancer that drains our resources, is also being addressed. Leakages once fed by subsidy scams and forex arbitrage have been closed,” he said, with ministries and agencies now submitting monthly performance reports, thereby strengthening transparency and accountability.

“This is not to say that the battle is over. But it is to affirm that under President Bola Tinubu, Nigeria is no longer drifting. We are moving. The bridge is under construction,” he affirmed.

To consolidate our gains and ensure Nigeria does not merely survive but thrives, we must take deliberate steps forward.

To consolidate the gain, however, Oladele spoke of the need to still make some critical decisions. These include confronting the challenge of inflation and the rising cost of living, so that Nigerians can feel the benefits of reforms in their daily lives.

To achieve this, he said, would require “deepening local production and producing what we eat, what we wear, and what we build with.”

Other measures, according to him, include accelerating housing delivery, extending healthcare transformation across the nation, making security a top priority, transforming and modernising agriculture to guarantee food security, deepening the engagement with the nation’s diaspora, and upholding the Federal Character Principle.

The vice chancellor, Professor Oluwole Sikiru Banjo, in his address, had earlier commended the federal government for the introduction of the Student Loan Policy, the recent adoption of TASUED as a federal institution, as well as upgrading of the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, to the status of a Federal University of Technology.

But while commending the government for the “many significant long-standing impacts in education and socio-economic growth and development,” he also emphasised “continuous investment in teacher development, digital infrastructure, research funding, and conducive learning environments.”

Banjo also called for the deepening of civic education, “so that our people can participate meaningfully, and the voice of the people must always remain central to governance.”

He said, “We appreciate the many political and economic reforms of the present administration, which include the removal of oil subsidies, the local governments’ autonomy, the creation of regional development commissions, and the new tax reforms, among others.

“All these painstaking and hard decisions and reforms are clear indications that Mr. President has come at this critical time in our history to rebuild and stabilise the nation to give us renewed hope.”

On the economy, Banjo acknowledged the Federal Government’s recent fuel subsidy removal policy as one of the most impactful economic reforms and its salutary impacts through the increased allocation of funds to states and local governments, and improved infrastructure development nationwide.

However, he noted that it is essential now to scale up social investment programmes, job creation strategies, and support for small and medium-scale enterprises “to give the government policies a human face to cushion the effects.

“This will ensure that the sacrifices of today will translate into prosperity for tomorrow.”

Banjo also acknowledged and commended the federal government for “the modest level of progress made in combating the menace of kidnapping, banditry, and social economic insecurity,” and called for more investment in technological weapons and devices to fully combat the menace.

The chairman of the occasion, Hon Dr Samuel Babatunde Adejare, in his opening remarks, had commended ANUPA for organising the event.

He, however, made a case for regular training programmes, workshops, and conferences to enhance the skills and knowledge of university administrators.

He also encouraged the association and the university to foster collaboration and knowledge-sharing with other universities to leverage best practices and expertise by engaging with stakeholders, including government, industry, and civil society.

The Monday event also witnessed the conferment of awards of excellence on distinguished personalities, including the former governor of Ogun State, Senator Gbenga Daniel, Senator Solomon Adeola (YAYI), Hon Olufemi Ogunbanwo, Hon Lukman Adeleye, Oluomo Ibrahim Dende Egungbohun and Hon Jagunmolu Akande Omoniyi.

Others are Alhaji Lamidi Dele Tajudeen and Senator Ganiyu Olanrewaju Solomon (GOS).

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