Open letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the need for subsidy Re-investment through Nigeria Accelerated Development Project (NAD Project)
I write Your Excellency with unquantifiable respect and sincerity.
I wish to commence by once again congratulating President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria on his inauguration, and on Your Excellency’s commendable start to leading our beloved country.
Your Excellency’s choice of Advisors and close aides has marked the geometric zeal and desire with which this pursuit of sustainable progress has taken off. Also, Your Excellency has not for once minced words in reminding elected office holders that they are all fully responsible for this nation’s upward progression, having sought votes and danced while asking for the job. This marks a new era, a swift departure from moments of excuses and reliance on past misdeeds to justify slow pace of development.
Furthermore, Mr President was super courageous in his inaugural address to end speculation regarding fuel subsidy removal, and unambiguously confirmed the inevitable. This has been accompanied by fuel price hike, transport fare and consumable price hikes across the country, however, we have been constantly schooled by the best economists of the long term reality of being innovative, adopting cleaner fuels and facilitating public expenditure towards sustainable infrastructure rather than funding endless consumption. Mr President has as well justified our cries and roars over the sham that was the multiple exchange rates, which has been ended for good.
Given the savings accruing from subsidy removal, I wish to humbly give my citizen advice to Your Excellency in the area of re-investment. We recall the Petroleum (Special) Trust Fund (PTF) which was more or less re-invested tax, and the Subsidy Reinvestment Program (SURE-P) which was meant to drive infrastructure renewal across the country. Under the Renewed Hope, infrastructure development is given great priority and financing is a major challenge. Therefore, Your Excellency, rather that administering an aggressive infrastructure and utility pursuit through the ambit of the mainstream service, an ad-hoc with a task to deliver critical projects across the country should be assembled immediately and in partnership with all stakeholder (especially state Governors and NASS) be given express support to litter the nation with completed projects.
Your Excellency, it is our desire for your government to make positive history such that it will be remembered for many years to come as one that has rejuvenated Nigeria and restored our glory, culminating in a rebirth of our status as a leading star in the comity of nations.
The establishment of the Nigeria Accelerated Development Project (NAD-Project), an ad-hoc body to amongst other responsibilities;
a. Drive the completion of abandoned projects across the 6 geo-political zones comprising Roads & Bridges, Waterways Dredging, ;
b. Initiate major link to market projects which possess elements of Value Generation, Wealth Creation and Employment Generation, capable of unlocking new and expansive economic frontiers;
c. Deploy technical and financial resources into collaborations with Skill Acquisition Platforms & Training Organisations to produce greater volume of skilled manpower, guided partnerships with bodies charged with Small-Holder Financing, improving accessibility to asset acquisition and enhancing operational capacity for semi-processing, production & processing; and
d. Provide technical input and fill any gaps relating to rapid completion of on-going projects handled by various MDAs across the 6 geo-political zones in form of task-based interventions.
Your Excellency, the NAD Project may have a Strategic Board, populated with highly reputable citizens, a National Coordinating Executive as the nation’s Task Manager with other Coordinating Task Managers for 6 geo-political zones. This will ensure solid corporate governance and equitable spread of accelerate development across the country.
Finally, Mr President, your administration is perceived to be on top of its things, particularly because you have not dragged feet on the most critical of issues, and you have shown business mindedness. Therefore the markets have become positively responsive and excitement is in the air, however, like you said, “let the poor breathe, don’t suffocate them”, the proposed NAD Project is capable of rooting your administration in the deep pages of positive history as it is likely to litter the country with projects of need and national interest.
Yours patriotically,
Hon. Yusuf Babangida Sulaiman,
Member Kano State House of Assembly (2011-2023), Gwale Constituency, Kano State
yuramsinternational@gmail.com
