IT is said that  no matter how far or long you have journeyed, if you are on the wrong path you will never make it to your destination until you turn back and retrace your route. That has been our story and as it is, we are yet to retrace our path despite the hype. Another year has gone past and yet, a new year has begun, what measures have we put in place to ensure that this year will not be a repeat of the previous year? All of the lofty programmes announced and promised the people, how do we make them realisable this year 2017? Are we going to continue with the excuses of our past? We have been asking people to go back to the land, what have we done to elevate our agriculture beyond the subsistence level?

I have friends who have ventured into agriculture these past two years, in response to government’s call for  people to embrace farming, all of them have returned with tales of woe. What support is the government giving to the ordinary agric farmers? Is this how it is  have done  elsewhere – that is  Israel – with success? Have our institutions targeted the research and manufacture of agric implements and machines? What support has  government given to these institutions to make our agric target realisable? What about fertilizers? Do we still have to depend on fertilizer import? If the feeds for our livestock farming are still mainly imported, what has government done to alleviate it’s impact on our farmers? The government has earmarked huge funds for our agric development, how are these funds expended? Do these grants or loans go only to big time farmers and political friends who divert same to other uses? How do we measure the use of these grants? What are the performance indices as placed beside the set goals?

Our local manufacturing companies have been calling for government’s intervention in their sector, to alleviate their plight, to what extent has government given them help? What have happened to our textile, steel, rubber/plastic, petrochemical and such other industries ? Are we going to see them revived this year?

A situation where members of the ruling party are engaged in sabotage acts as is happening in the IDP camps in the north east, is there any hope for the much expected change this year? Fixing the economy is not a matter of rhetoric or joke, we must operate with practical and measurable indicators. First, what do we have as income? Can this country determine this to at least a 50percent level of accuracy?

Presently, we have a situation where only one third is declared as income, while the remaining two thirds go into individual and private pockets. If we can truly determine our income, we can plan and execute projects in line with what we have and face the realities squarely. People do not mind or react negatively when they are faced with hardship, they manage and bear the situations but they react negatively when they discover insincerity on the part of government. When you favour certain individuals and interest groups while others are languishing in pain, when you openly discriminate policies to favour your section of the country, people are bound to react. This government must realise that it promised to fix things – including the economy – and not to give excuses forever. It is time to bring all hands on deck, fixing the economy does not require rocket science, we can do it if we are so determined and carry everybody along. The people can die for causes that they believe in, what we require now  is an “innovative-centric culture” where everyone is encouraged to take an active role in innovative exploits, in line with the demands of the day. Where new ideas and approaches are nurtured and where the power of technology and information are well understood.

Let all professionals and trade groups come on board and tell us what they can offer, while government will bring to the table what it can do to make these professional bodies effective. The government cannot do it alone without the support of the people, maybe, we have been doing so in the past but we have to do things right. We are an import dependent country, so we must control our use of foreign exchange and the only way to effect this is to engage in local production.

How do we engage in local production without the help of professionals to guide us? That is why every professional group must be encouraged to come on board and the government must be ready to receive them with enthusiasm. For example; in the area of drugs, bring the pharmaceutical groups together, both manufacturers and dispensers, acquaint them with government’s programmes and directions on drugs, they will advise us on how to do it with success without foreign help. The country is losing a lot through the importation of fake drugs, especially from countries like China. We need the help of this group to help curtail these excesses.

Without a sound education policy, a country’s youth development is stunted, that is why government should also meet with our teaching professionals and let them be aware of the direction in the education sector. If the curriculum is determined by the teachers and students without the inputs of professionals, how will it succeed?

For example, how did the subjects of moral instructions and history get removed from our school curriculum in the first place? Surely it was initiated by people who did not know the relevance of these subjects to societal growth. What advance societies do is to approach universities and research institutions to design solutions to societal challenges that they are faced with, in all endeavours of life. What do we do here? We do it according to the whims of our politicians and those in high places.

If a country is serious with education and youth development, it will not allow the lecturers to go on strike at such frequencies as it happens today.  It is a matter of deep reflection for those of them that we have as leaders now. Even, the professionals in our midst, as soon as they become part of government, are sucked in by such negative culture.

For this country to move ahead, we must begin to have a change of attitude, on how we handle and relate with our professionals. You cannot sow corn and reap coco-yam, if you respect them and give them the opportunity to offer their professional views, the government will be enriched.

The whole world now know that Nigeria is one of the best in the world in the field of medicine but what have we done with our doctors? We have debased their worth, so much so that they are classified with third rate professionals.  Government promised so much last year and delivered on very little, so much so that  citizens had to take recourse to ponzi schemes like MMM to make ends meet. 2017 is here, the government must begin to deliver on its promises to the people.

By Sunny Ikhioya, www. southsouthecho.com Twitter: @SunnyIkhioya