By Kunle Oyatomi
ONE OF the most distinguished Nigerians in the country’s history is the late Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo, first Premier of the Western Region and, arguably, its most influential, outspoken and formidable political figure in his prime.
In recognition of his colossal political stature, legendary actor, playwright, theatre manager and musician, the late Hubert Ogunde, immortalised him in Awo Mimo, where he calls Awolowo an Ajagunmale, meaning a fearless, pure and righteous leader.
In the seven minutes, 48 seconds track, which I still listened to on YouTube Music only a few days ago, Ogunde, never one to mince words on issues pertaining to the Ikenne genius, also compares him to a high priest and a moral compass to his people (ìwọ ni ó, olúwo àwa).
Beyond politics and advocating for the rights and well-being of the Yoruba people and generally Nigerians. Awolowo, a legal practitioner by training, was also rich in social and political thoughts.
While it may appear that the figures mentioned so far in this discourse have joined the saints triumphant, their legacies, continue to endure through their words, actions and deeds.
This brings me to Voice of Courage: Selected Speeches of Obafemi Awolowo (Volume 2), published by Tribune on July 15, 2018. In the address, Awolowo, the best president Nigeria never had, articulated his vision for the country with a clarity that was arguably unmatched.
Deal with this:
“There are naturally many economic, political and social objectives which Nigeria must pursue in order to justify its existence as a state. Some of these can be identified as basic and fundamental and are so relevant to the subject of revenue allocation that, if faithfully pursued, will decidedly satisfy the principles of even progress and need which, over the years, we have been hankering after, and trying hard, with indifferent success or unsuccess, to quantify and materialise. It occurs to me that there are seven such objectives, which I will now state, and briefly comment upon.
“The first is full employment: It is well-known that, in the matter of exploitation, we have, so far, done no more than touch the fringe of our natural resources. They are still largely undiscovered, and inefficiently utilised.
Our capacity for phenomenal economic growth is tremendous and truly colossal. To plan for less than full employment, therefore, is an admission on the part of Nigerian leaders that they are unequal to their admittedly difficult, but at the same time inspiring and manageable assignment.
“Besides, whenever we talk of merely reducing, and not stamping just unemployment, the questions which I always ask myself are: who are the unfortunate victims we are planning to keep perforce on the unemployment market and is it really just and fair that some of our fellow citizens should be left out in the cold to starve in the midst of plenty, and to suffer poverty, destitution and degradation which arc the inevitable concomitants of unemployment?
In this connection, it is well to bear in mind that inadequate opportunity for employment among individual Nigerians will also mean inadequate and unequal opportunity for most states to cater for the economic welfare of those under their respective jurisdiction.”
But missed electoral opportunities resulting from electoral fraud, interruptions of democratic rule and man’s last enemy, death, denied Awolowo the chance to fully realise this vision at the national level, leaving the citizenry to grapple with ideas whose relevance has endured long after their author departed.
Here comes President Bola Tinubu . . .
Upon his election, Tinubu vowed at his swearing-in to expand the economy by at least six per cent a year, lift barriers to investment, create jobs and unify the exchange rate, while also tackling rampant insecurity.
At the time, he said:
“On the economy, we target a higher Gross Domestic Product, GDP, growth and to significantly reduce unemployment.”
With more than a third of the country’s population unemployed, Tinubu’s vision, as inspired by Awo’s idea from years ago, will significantly bring a reduction in those figures.
Against this backdrop, Tinubu recently approved the gazetting of targeted, investment-linked incentives to support the proposed Bonga South-West deep-offshore oil project by Shell and its partners.
Note that the Bonga project is strategic and crucial to Nigeria’s economy, given that it has the potential to create thousands of direct and indirect jobs, generate significant foreign-exchange inflows and deliver sustained government revenues over the life of the project.
The President also directed his Special Adviser on Energy, Mrs Olu Verheijen, to facilitate the process, in line with Nigeria’s existing legal and fiscal frameworks, assuring that the project will be delivered before the end of his first tenure in 2027.
Speaking while playing audience to a Shell delegation led by its Global Chief Executive Officer, Wael Sawan, Tinubu said the incentives were disciplined, targeted and globally competitive, designed to attract new capital without undermining government revenues.
These incentives are not blanket concessions.
They are ring-fenced and investment-linked, focused on new capital and incremental production, strong local content delivery, and in-country value addition.
Tinubu said:
“My expectation is clear: Bonga South-West must reach a Final Investment Decision, FID, within the first term of this administration.”
While history has already judged and favoured Awolowo’s ideas and unparalleled accomplishments in the South-West, what remains is for today’s leaders to prove that they can deliver them on a grand scale. It is such a thought that is propelling President Bola Tinubu, and my wish for him is that he succeeds.
Oyatomi, Former Editor, (Sunday Vanguard 1999-2010), Author (FINGERPRINTS 2008) and a current member of the Board of Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI), a Think Tank based in Abuja.
