By John Ekundayo, PhD
The writer whilst engrossed in one of the modules of Organizational Leadership during the pursuit of his master’s degree, the term – Agenda Setting – was discussed as a tool used by certain stakeholders to influence leadership decisions or policy directions in organizations and government.
The term, agenda setting, was more prominently employed and exploited by media organizations, globally, to influence and initiate public discourse and debates over certain issues within the confines of communities, counties and countries that even the ordinary citizens might not really desire as priority in their scales of preferences.
In essence, if a news item comes on frequently and prominently, more often at peak viewing hours, there is the likelihood that the readers (newspaper), listeners (radio), and viewers (television) will take cognizance of the issue as vital and worth their time. It might eventually become a state or national issue that the government of the day, in a particular context, would eventually make executive decisions or legislate on.
In this vein, in every society the presence, prominence, profundity and power of the media cannot be gainsaid especially when measuring the outcome of the developmental mantra of such a society. These days, the digital technology, having birthed the social media platforms, has impacted and enhanced the power and propensity of dissemination of information and ideas globally within a fraction of a second!
2023: Monumental Matters on the Table
It is gladdening to read that one of the key aspirants in the ruling APC for the office of the president, in the person of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has stated that he intends paying West African Examinations Council (WAEC) fees for final year students of secondary schools in Nigeria. What is the purpose of this? Will this increase enrollment or enhance literacy rate country-wide? Was this borne out of research or making a political statement? Is it realizable with our dwindling and dipping state of revenue generation bearing in mind that Nigeria’s economy is seemingly sustained by both internal and external loans? What are crucial issues on the table on the route to 2023 as many Nigerians are angling for President Muhammadu Buhari to end his term and hop into his farm in Daura to tend his cows?
Security Of Lives And Properties
Paramount and pertinent to any country attaining real development growth and attracting investors is the issue of security. It is worrisome that with high hope the followers voted for the incumbent president in 2015 and 2019 thinking that President Buhari, being a retired army general, would make a mincemeat of Boko Haram, bandits and insurgents.
Alas, the hope was apparently dashed! It is upsetting that the so-called bandits are now being bandied and branded as terrorists by the same government who thought there were not real threat initially. Top on the front burner as 2023 beckons is the issue of security. We do not need any retired military officer to bamboozle or befuddle us again to vote for him as he is the one with the monopoly of wisdom to wriggle our country out of the contextual conundrum, we have found ourselves. It is doable!
Highly concerned, conscientious, consulting, collaborative and cerebral President will get this done within the nick of time. Nigeria’s followers would love to see how this menace of insecurity would be a time of the past.
Checkmating And Crippling Corruption
As a public analyst and political affairs commentator, I could state without mincing words that the paramount reason Nigerians voted for Muhammadu Buhari as President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria was that he would deliver our country out of the jaw of corruption.
We have been in democracy for twenty-three years and corruption practices seem not to be abating. It is a pity that a former military ruler was saying that his own government was better in corruption in that whatever was supposedly stolen was minute compared with humongous public funds disappearing these days with no culprit duly apprehended and prosecuted in accordance with the law of the land.
Is the present law not even too lenient for embezzlers of government funds, remembering, this archaic and antiquated 1999 constitution was the brainchild of the military interlopers? There is the need to revisit the amendment of sections dealing with corruption if the war to checkmate and cripple corruption will be won in Nigeria.
Modernizing Agro-Allied Business
It is high time governments, both states and federal, stopped paying lip service to agro-allied business. This article is not emphasizing agriculture.
The emphasis should be on proactive agro-allied industrial development that would not only harvest the produce but be engaged in processing, packaging, and promoting the manufactured goods in the markets.
The latter could be local markets within a state; or national markets within Nigeria; or international markets, starting with West African countries to other African countries, and from there to the entire globe. There will be a need to partner with local and international private entities who will be willing to do business with Nigeria.
Of significant importance to mention, is the archaic issue of cattle rearing along controversial routes. Nigeria has lost lives and limbs from this seeming and needless adversity. Instead, Nigeria, if in 2023 we have a game changer as president, should turn the adversity to prosperity for farmers, herders and the whole country by initiating ranching.
This would result in more meat and milk production with attendant jobs generation. In addition, bye products coming out from the system of ranching would bring in income and more importantly foreign exchange earnings.
States and federal governments vis-à-vis private individuals could partner and invest in this vast industry. Imagine cow consumption in south west Nigeria guesstimated at about two and half billion Naira (N2.5 billion) on a daily basis (according to Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, Ondo State Governor)! What a huge industry if properly managed and harnessed by all and sundry!!
Modern Healthcare
There is the urgent need for state actors and other high net worth citizens to stop the trend of medical tourism to India, United Kingdom (UK), Germany, United States of America (USA), etc. It should be a crucial campaign issue for a proactive development of our health systems.
Whilst existing health institutions should be revamped to conform to international best practice in medicine, there should be establishment of new state of the art health institutions based on regional arrangement.
These institutions should not be erected but be fully equipped with facilities and highly skilled personnel. The latter should be motivated with internationally accepted remunerations. If this is done, Nigerians that are highly competent working in the diaspora will find their ways home to Nigeria.
In essence, it would be an apparent way of stemming brain drain. It would be recalled that President Buhari was away from his duty to take care of himself for upward of 200 days from 2015 till date! Asiwaju Tinubu was away in the United Kingdom (UK) for about three months to take care of a “common” knee injury in 2021. This does not speak well of our country as serious in making an appreciable impact in governance.
Once upon a time, the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, was a medical tourism destination for such highly placed individuals as the King of Saudi Arabia. Could it be succinctly and saliently stated that we had a better yesterday? It is high time this ugly trend was arrested!
Conclusion
In concluding the first part of this series, the writer, as a followership scholar, will like to intimate followers who are potential delegates (party) or voters to deliberately be involved in the process of political developments as 2023 beckons.
In essence, the aspirants coming out now, and those that will still come out thereafter should be properly engaged to decipher whether they have anything to offer. In this vein, any aspirant that is not available for robust and rigorous discussion, discourse and debate should be given the boot! Simple and straightforward!! Once bitten, twice shy!!! Nigeria’s followers, be wise.
John Ekundayo, Ph.D. – Harvard-Certified Organizational Strategist, and also a Leadership Development Consultant, can be reached via 08155262360 (SMS only) and drjmoekundayo@hotmail.com
