‘Why I x-rayed Nigeria in my book’

Bookshelf: ‘Hope Rekindled’ is an analysis of how the country has fallen short of its initial design. Why did you decide to write this book? Samuel S. O. Afemikhe: A lot of people, including me are not happy with the situation of the country, things aren’t going well at all, we have not gone the […]

Bookshelf: ‘Hope Rekindled’ is an analysis of how the country has fallen short of its initial design. Why did you decide to write this book?

Samuel S. O. Afemikhe: A lot of people, including me are not happy with the situation of the country, things aren’t going well at all, we have not gone the way we ought to, particularly if you take a look at the country vis-à-vis its peers that were at the same level with us in all respects at independence.

That the country is not doing well is an established fact, but the reason for this awful situation is discussed in general, subjective and abstract terms, so I felt there was need to critically look at our situation, support the discourse with facts and figures so that people can clearly situate our problems. It is hoped that ‘Hope Rekindled’ will enable Nigerians look at the challenges that face the nation comprehensively and encourage our leaders across the spectrum to make concerted efforts to address them. Nigeria should and must be made to work better for all.

Bookshelf: What did it take to put the work together?

Afemikhe: To answer the second question first, the book is about 804 pages, it took some painstaking effort, intense research and analysis to be able to come up with it and as you could see, it offers a lot of practical insight into all the issues it treated, giving graphic and statistical data in almost all cases.

We created a young team of dedicated Nigerians to gather the data and analyze into necessary benchmarks. Thereafter, I did the interpretation and dug into the challenges posed, why they arose and what we, as a people can do about them. The data is hard facts and is available for people to put their own interpretation. 

Bookshelf: You gave a detailed assessment of the economic condition of Nigeria. A typical example is chapter three, titled “No One should be Left behind.” What do you intend to achieve?

Afemikhe: The intention was to tell the home truth, to show what we ought to do and have failed to do. For a long while, we did things in a very wrong manner. We are blessed with abundant resources but these resources are either not properly harnessed or when harnessed are misapplied. So, we are faced with wrong inputs and process all misapplied. Inputs here have to do with our political and economic horizon and the whole aspect of our competitiveness. The particular chapter you referred to deals with the inequality in Nigeria. Averages mask absolute individual challenges, whether you are looking at rural versus urban or north and south. We are all Nigerians and our collective effort should be targeted at raising the standard of living, human development index, and so on, of all Nigerians, wherever they live.

Our policies over the years did not help matters in that regard. They did not aid our movement in the right direction. There was the import substitution policy, which was not holistic and comprehensive, at a point. We brought in plants and machineries without training people to properly handle them and getting the right technology and development. When that failed, we resorted to scapegoat economics and we set up all sorts of import schemes, a price control board and then thought along the line that the expatriate involvement in our businesses was the problem and we came up with the indigenization degree to take over such businesses and turned them over to our people to operate.

Bookshelf: Do you feel that the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern protectorates in 1914 was a mistake or that it stunted development process?

Afemikhe: Not at all, the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Protectorates in 1914 is not, as has is extensively discussed in the book. The diversity and the wealth of ideas and resources the different people bring to the table are enormous. Besides, I have always argued that the marriage was divine and like the Catholic marriage, which even the pope cannot dissolve, Nigeria has come to be, and it’s indissoluble. There is strength in diversity, regrettably, however, we have not been able to explore and take advantage of our diversity as a nation.

The problem of the nation has nothing to do with the 1914 amalgamation of the country by the British; we need total honesty to address the numerous challenges that are stunting the social, political and economic progress of this nation. These challenges include unfaithfulness to the nation and to one another in particular, tribalism, nepotism, corruption, unnecessary optimism, power dominance, contradictions, avarice, irrationalism, insecurity, absence of the virtues of political ethos, honesty, tolerance and patriotism and the inability to properly harness the country’s abundant resources.

Bookshelf: Your study shows that Nigerian Federal Legislators earn $189,500 dollars a year in a country with a GDP per capita of under $2,000 a year, whilst the Singaporean legislator, whose country’s GDP per capita is $51,709, earns $154,000 per annum. Do you see the possibility of Nigeria turning the tables on this status quo?  

Afemikhe: It depends on Nigerians who should demand transparency, value for money and equity from those that they have elected.

Bookshelf: You compared Nigeria to its African counterparts who were also colonised. Do you think Nigeria stands a chance when it hasn’t even met up with the Millennium Development Goals?

Afemikhe: With zeal and determination, the country will overcome and meet all targeted goals, we have the human and all other resources to be whatever we want to become.

Bookshelf: How do you think today’s leadership can take Nigeria to the height it deserves being endowed with so much human and material resources?

Afemikhe: The government is on track, doing everything possible to rescue the nation from the jaws of corruption, it’s also trying to cut down on recurrent expenditure and free more funds for capital expenditure. The Minister of Finance is on a mission to ensure that we spend our revenue prudently by doing the right thing and doing things right which also entails doing more with less and cutting out waste and achieving set goals. This is a first for any government since 1960 as this area is concerned. This singular effort and focus is capable of pulling us out of the doldrums when combined with the potent principles of diversification of the economy which she also champions.