As the present administration, bedeviled by security and economic challenges, approaches its end in three years from now, President Muhammadu Buhari has promised to focus his attention on improved service delivery to Nigerians.
Particularly, the president said the attention of the administration would be dedicated to the tasks of providing access to quality education, health care and productivity.
In his bid to attach significance to his promise, the president, rightly, chose to speak when he received Letters of Credence from Ambassadors/High Commissioners of eight countries at the State House in Abuja.
The ambassadors/high commissioners, who presented their letters of credence are: Hocine Latil of Algeria, Luong Quoc Thinh of Vietnam, Dr Benson Alfred Bana of Tanzania, Traore Kalilou of Cote d’Ivoire, Abakar Saleh Chahaimi of Chad,Jamal Mohammed Barrow of Somalia, Brahim Salem El Mami Buseif of Sahrawi Arab Republic and Mohammed Alibak of Iran.
Instructively, the president said that Nigeria is making efforts to sustain its position as a profitable investment destination with unequalled incentives in all sectors. He highlights the benefits of large markets abounding in Nigeria and flexible tax system which would-be foreign investors can benefit from.
The president, essentially, said that the present administration’s future policies and programmes will be guided by its commitment to the nine priority areas with the end desire of building thriving and sustainable economy, reduce poverty, improve agricultural output and power generation and distribution and, above all, build a system to fight corruption, which is dear to his heart.
Of course, successive governments in Nigeria, since independence, have devised strategies aimed at making life easier and enjoyable for Nigerians with most of the strategies poorly implemented, just as they were poorly and haphazardly initiated.
Perhaps, the major problems facing Nigeria today is how to eradicate poverty and fight endemic corruption. In fact, these twin evils have constituted themselves into major challenges necessary for a responsive and responsible administration, such as the current one, to contend with in order to make life better and more meaningful for the people.
Of course, the prevalence of mass poverty in Nigeria, which this administration is trying to eradicate, is as a result of the unimaginable level of corruption and previous poor management of the country’s economy.
Undoubtedly, the level of economic performance of any country depends, primarily, on two factors that include the level of resources available relative to its population, and the level of productivity. Nigeria is endowed with abundant natural resources but it is hampered in its development process by corruption, which leads to low level of productivity and mismanagement of the resources.
Substantial amount of Nigeria’s revenue which would have been used to improve the living conditions of people, until the advent of the Buhari-led administration, were stolen by government officials charged with responsibility for their safe-keep while the poor were left to wallow in abject poverty.
Corruption, of course, has affected previous poverty reduction initiatives in Nigeria in the sense that many of the initiatives were either designed to fail or not implemented at all.
Thus, for Nigeria to deal effectively with corruption and poverty problems, it is crucial that sustainable long-term solutions are devised by this administration. No doubt, fighting the twin evils of corruption and poverty is a daunting challenge that requires a multifaceted approach in line with the multi-dimensional natures of corruption and poverty.
For the approach to be effective, it has to be accompanied by deliberate efforts to provide infrastructural facilities that can propel, sustain and promote economic development.
In addition, government must build an investment climate that can facilitate growth of the private sector and, simultaneously, empower poor people to participate in that process.
Like polio, COVID-19 can be defeated
Sounding confident and determined, President Muhammadu Buhari, this week, in Abuja, expressed optimism that African countries can defeat the coronavirus pandemic in the same manner they have eradicated the Wild Polio Virus on the continent.
The president spoke at an event to mark the formal certification of the Wild Polio Virus eradication in the African region during the virtual session of the 70th World Health Organisation (WHO) regional committee for Africa.
Health authorities have declared Africa free of the wild polio virus after decades of efforts, a major step in the campaign to eradicate the crippling viral disease worldwide.
Tuesday’s historic announcement by the African Regional Certification Commission for Polio Eradication during a World Health Organisation (WHO) event came four years after the continent’s last case was reported in northern Nigeria.
The commission, an independent body, confirmed that all 47 countries in the WHO’s Africa region have eradicated the disease that attacks the nervous system and can cause irreversible paralysis within hours.
This development was hailed by leaders and health experts, who also urged continued vigilance over the still-existing threat posed by polio vaccine-derived outbreaks in more than a dozen countries.
“This is one of the greatest achievements in public health history,” the head of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said.
In his speech, the president said: ‘‘I recall that shortly after assuming office in May 2015, I made a pledge to Nigerians that I would not bequeath a polio-endemic country to my successor. This certification is, therefore, a personal fulfillment of that pledge to not only Nigerians, but to all Africans.
The president said that at a time when the global community is battling the COVID-19 pandemic, this achievement strengthens his conviction that with the requisite political will, investments and strategies, as well as citizens’ commitment, the current pandemic can be defeated.
The president, who described the achievement as a truly historic, commended President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa and Chairman of the African Union, under whose leadership, Africa crossed the finishing line.
He also congratulated Dr Matshidiso Moeti and the WHO Regional Committee for Africa for their untiring efforts, contributions and leadership towards polio eradication in Africa.
However, the declaration does not mean Africa is polio-free. Cases remain of the so-called vaccine-derived polio virus, which is a rare mutated form of the weakened but live virus contained in the oral polio vaccine.
That mutated virus can spark crippling polio outbreaks, and 16 African countries are currently experiencing one.
Therefore, while efforts continue to be directed to the fight against the COVID-19, leaders in Nigeria and, indeed, Africa leaders must not let their guards down and prod on to sustain their war against polio disease.
Africans must see a continuation in the efforts to protect children across the continent against all forms of polio and other childhood diseases.
Essentially, the continent, and Nigeria must be in the vanguard, must take the lessons they have learned and best practices from the battle against wild polio virus to achieve Africa’s other public health goals and improve healthcare for all Africans. Routine immunisation and supplemental immunization activities should be continued in all parts.
In Nigeria, like the president said, government should leverage on the lessons it learnt from polio eradication war to strengthen its health system, especially primary healthcare.
The country should guard this achievement of the eradication of Wild Polio Virus in Africa jealously and ensure that it implements measures to prevent a resurgence of the dreaded disease.
All levels of government have successfully come together to make this day possible.
