10 pointers for the new Nigerian leadership

1. Be prepared for bats and bricks. This is because most Nigerians love change but have difficulty in managing it. Now that you are in the saddle, your patience will be tried. Nigerians are in a hurry and they believe that any new leadership has a magic wand to change everything. These are some of their expectations within two weeks:

(a) Electricity will return full blast and be on 24/7. (b) All roads will be fixed and Nigeria will look like New York. (c) All fraudsters will be brought to book. (d) Anything illicit will be brought to a halt. (e) All taps will run from Okene to Ankpa, from Yenogoa to Katsina. (f) Impatient drivers will be banished from our roads. (g) There will be no poor person in Nigeria. (h) Accountability will be at an all-time high. (i) The naira will be at par with the dollar.

We all know that this is impossible, but as I said, Nigerians are very impatient. This certainly sets the stage for how fast the new government will have to run but it has to run strategically to impact positively.

2. Over time our youngsters have become excellent entrepreneurs doing great things in their spaces. They complain endlessly about power. Something needs to be done to provide sustainable, affordable energy for our hardworking and creative entrepreneurs. We also need to mine creative energy, authors, musicians, artists. These are the persons who continue to put us on the map globally. Let us celebrate and support them.

3. Work ethics: Overtime, some Nigerians have come to the conclusion that working hard is an anathema, so they hang around for easy money. We need to re-jig our work ethics so that hard work is rewarded. Within the workforce rank and file, a hardworking person in considered a “mumu”, a.k.a. “a fool”. The lazy person seems to be getting along better perhaps as a result of “ima mmadu”, i.e., connection in high places.

4. Customer service: This is where Nigerians have had a raw deal over the years. The customer is treated like an irritant whereas the customer ought to be treated like a king. From eateries to airports to service points, Nigerians are dismissed, disrespected and shooed. It is time business services and organisations shored up their customer-service quotient. I am tired of being in the forefront of demanding service from airlines who have delayed a flight without announcement, gum-chewing receptionists who don’t care and officers who cannot answer a simple question from a client.

5. Seeking out our brilliant kids and appropriate job placement. Many young persons with intimidating credentials have either fallen in the wrong hands in their desperation or are wasting away in jobs totally unrelated to their core competencies. In many instances, those with low grades have found their way into premium jobs while those with stellar grades are wasting away. I know too many who bring me to tears, like someone very close to me who has a Masters degree in Petroleum Refining Systems Engineering with a distinction and has been sitting at home for one year and it is not for want of trying.

6. Mentorship: I find that mentoring is the single most important resource that Nigerians can give to fast-track national development. I am passionate about young people and I watch them flower when they are well guided. I mentor at least six of them every year. It is so inspiring to watch those you trained, guided and inspired become important persons in their own right. It is a mutually-beneficial relationship. I learn a lot from them as they learn a lot from me.

Today, Britain uses a lot of apprenticeship schemes. It is working extremely well for them. If everyone who has some skills, some knowledge begins to mentor a small set of young people, then perhaps over a 10-year period we would have, as a nation, brought up a corps of young people with improved capacity, ready to run for the nation.

7. Education is the core of any nation. An improved educational system cannot be over-emphasised.

8. Making Nigeria the centre of the world will help give us back our pride – foreign policy issues, national image building, media hype and public relations. Visiting other African countries often makes me want to scream when there are persons making snide remarks about 419 and other underbellies of Nigeria. We are a great nation. Let us talk about our achievements and the strides of many Nigerians at home and abroad. I know many countries where they have so many ills yet when they publicise, you think they are nirvana. Nigeria has too many things to celebrate. Let’s front-load them on billboards, in the media, in books, at airports until all of us become part of the sing-along phrase “Nigeria is a great country”.

9. A national system that allows senior citizens to benefit from the state while ensuring that their expertise, knowledge, is tapped. They are a veritable human resource.