A Nigerian who is the Senior Pastor of The Evangelical Ark Mission (TEAM) in the Philippines, Bishop Tony Marioghae has suggested that the first step to economic recovery for Nigeria is for the government to cut down on wasteful and unnecessary spending.
He gave the advice in a recent telephone chat with Church Times.
Marioghae who has helped to provide economic direction for the Philippines said Nigeria will only be deceiving itself if it continues to spend on things that have no direct consequence on its economy.
He said, “it is true it was not President Bola Tinubu that caused the present economic mess Nigeria found itself, but if he had done the right thing shortly after he took the reins of governance, there will be at least a glimmer of hope that Nigeria is going somewhere.”
Cost of governance
What Tinubu according to him ought to have done is cut the cost of governance and reduce the cabinet to a barest minimum to reflect the nation’s economic reality.
“The presidency should also be bold enough to reject certain privileges. Unfortunately, what we have had so far is an increase in the cabinet and a lawmaking body that is profligate. I don’t understand why the lawmakers need those vehicles they bought with billions of taxpayers’ money.” Mariogne said.
He reasoned that any leader who has the interest of the people at heart will not be the first to eat. “What we need in Nigeria is a servant leader, somebody who is compassionate and who is ready to undergo personal sacrifice for the sake of the majority of the people. They should live by example. They should make sacrifices and deny themselves some unnecessary comfort to show the way and send a signal to the citizens that they truly care,” Marioghae said.
Alexander the Great
He cited the example of Alexander the Great who according to him did not stay in the palace when he was conquering the then-known world. “He was always with his soldiers on the battlefield. That shows the extent to which a servant leader can go.”
Beyond cutting the cost of governance, the president according to Marioghae “ought to have marshalled practical steps that will take the country out of the mud and carry Nigerians along. There must be a development plan that must be backed up by legislation so that any government that comes in tomorrow will continue with the plan.”
Government in his words, “should make power generation a priority. No country makes meaningful progress without a regular power supply. It is not negotiable. It’s really disturbing that we have not been able to get the power generation and distribution right.”
Food Revolution
He suggested that the government must begin a campaign for a food revolution just like the Operation Feed the Nation programme we had during the first coming of former President Olusegun Obasanjo as head of State. “As we solve light and security problems, then we must ensure that there is a revival of our agriculture. The government should invest heavily in agriculture. The money saved from subsidy removal must be channelled to Agriculture”
Cultural mindset
While noting that Nigerians also have a role to play in reviving the nation’s economy, Marioghae said, “The leadership must spearhead the change. We have a bad culture. People still do expensive burials. People think it’s okay to share part of the national cake when they get to the government. Some believe when their people are in government it is the time for their clan to chop. This cultural mindset must go”
Marioghae said the problem of Nigeria can only be solved by Nigerians. “The solution is right within us and not from Europe or the US. It is within us. It is time to look inward. Every nation that is enjoying prosperity today first had to make sacrifices. People will adjust and cooperate if they see a leader that is showing the way and living the way. What we need is a leader with the heart of a servant who is ready to make sacrifices for the upcoming to breathe.”
