CRITICAL MASS MANIFESTO

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    THE VISION FOR NIGERIAN CHANGE IN

    OUR LIFETIME

    Critical Mass Manifesto

    By

    The Critical Mass for Nigerian Change in our Lifetime.

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    Vision for Nigerian Change in our lifetime: Critical Mass Manifesto

    This manifesto frames the vision of Nigeria's third generation. It is a compilation of schemes, plans,

    programs, and goals which its compilers have committed to in their collective quest for positivechange in Nigeria. It's fundamental premise is that Nigeria's drift and incapability so far has beenthe consequence of a missing shared vision and the absence of consensus around a vision. This

    document and the process that has created it corrects those two problems and every single complier has made a personal commitment to the framework and ideology that this document creates. It is an

    ideology of new Africans in the global age and is completely non-partisan even if in pursuit of

    openness, change, progress and action.

    As you read through or contribute please remember that the Critical Mass for Nigerian Change in our Lifetime is not an organisation but a movement spreading consensus, sharing vision and

    committing to action one person at a time. It is your time. It is Nigeria's time.

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    Contents

    1. Bringing Nigeria into the modern world economy.2. How to colonise West Africa.3. How to resolve National Question.4. How to improve urban living standards.5. How to create effective political institutions.6. economic 7. social 8. How to modernise and effectivise Nigeria's cultural and traditional heritage.9. How to create an open and pluralistic society.10. How to spark off the industrial revolution in Nigeria.11.How to effectively bridge the digital divide with the west.

    12. How to dramatically expand Nigeria's middle class.13. How to create an effective government14. How to bring the rural poor into the 21 st century.15. How to deal with religious divides .16. How to achieve food sufficiency.17. How to bridge the gap between town and gown.18. How Nigeria can lead the first modern black civilisation.19. How to draw on our western heritage while leveraging our traditional values in

    the creation of a competitive national culture.20. How to terminate all the ghosts of Nigeria's past.21. How to get stolen and expatriated money back into the Nigerian economy.22. How to develop an effective financial system23. How to protect our culture & create our own comprehensive system of values

    reference points.24. How to develop citizens25. How to improve access to justice.26. How to define Nigeria's foreign policy.27. How to define Nigeria's military policy.28. How to develop tourism in Nigeria.29. How to create Nigerian literature into an institution that creates, ideas,

    synthesise ideas, propagate them and permeate the minds of Nigerians.30.

    How to reform the press and return to a free press.31. How to remove money from politics.32. How to remove the ethical gap that exists in Nigerian public life.33. How to develop a transportation backbone for Nigeria.34. How to develop a fair fiscal and revenue-generation arrangement for Nigeria.35. How to capitalise on Sino-Indian goals of exporting technology.36. How to reinstate the privilege of Nigerian citizenship.37. How to leverage the economic power of Nigerians in the diaspora and from

    other blacks in the diaspora.38. How to reverse the brain-drain.39. How to get our country back from the stooges of imperialism

    40. How to achieve emancipation from neo-colonisation and neo-imperialism.41. How to create a Nigeria that westerners can truly live in.42. How to stop racism and sexism in Nigeria.

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    43. How to protect our environment and achieve sustainability.44. How to become a world leader in sports and the arts.45. How to solve the housing problem.46. How to tap the Nigerian potential.47. How to achieve social security in Nigeria.48. How to create universal education in Nigeria.

    49. How to establish a meritocracy in Nigeria.50. A meaning of freedom that we all agree with.51. How to make sport a multi-billion dollar Nigerian industry.52. How to protect our freedom(s).53. Open-ended vision or Nigeria.54. How to achieve key MDGs.55. How to expand and equalise opportunity in Nigeria.56. Open Issues

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    Vision One: Bringing Nigeria into the modern world economy.

    1. Become a regional infrastructure and economic hub. The specific action steps for doingthis would be in search of building critical mass in 7 key industries namely; Aviation,

    Banking, Oil & Gas, Steel, Consumer Goods, Advertising & Media, Power, Telecoms andeducation.

    2. Continued multilateralism. The problem with Nigerian multilateralism has been its failure

    to nail down economic benefits. While endorsing a continuation of this approach, the rulesof engagement need to be amended so that the primary goal is to boil each multilateral act

    into Naira and Kobo or some other measurable economic effect.3. Maintain close economic cooperation and co-development with South Africa while

    synchronising economic plans and technological/scientific standards.

    4. Create an effective program for producing 60 million knowledge workers in 40 years.Knowledge worker here refers to any individual who possesses multiple skill tracks

    adaptable across industries.5. Complete the overhaul of the Nigerian power infrastructure and lead a massive

    infrastructure creation drive in roads, business districts, shopping areas, ports, and roads.

    6. Adjust the Nigerian transportation system to be able to become tourism-oriented anddevelop domestic tourism.

    7. Create policies that entrap foreign investment particularly in the Oil & Gas and telecomsindustries, keeping the money circulating in Nigeria and generating economic benefit in

    Nigeria.

    8. Fix the domestic security situation. In particular, Nigeria must deal with armed robbery,

    effective police response, and outright lawlessness (absence of rule of law).

    The main idea would be to become a regional hub. That way, Nigeria can attract much more

    foreign investment as the attraction pitch now becomes, buy into Nigeria and get a free pass into

    West Africa. Furthermore, we can take more of the big-dollar expenditures of our neighbours,some of which are actually quite richer than us in terms of incomes. By being in tandem with

    South Africa we can develop a preferred market for Nigerian companies to raise capital and haveaccess to and draw mass from Africa's biggest economy which has the same need in this respect. In

    the creation of knowledge workers, in the immediate short run Nigeria would be able to export

    more skilled people whose financial repatriations would become ever more important in Nigeria's

    search for investment capital and foreign exchange. Over time, as this capital becomesdomesticated, the holders of both the economic and human capital would be able to lead theeconomic jump-start in Nigeria. Getting the infrastructure laid is a basic. About making Nigeria

    safe for tourism, the target is to attract black westerners who would stream to Nigeria once it is

    established as a visitable place One of the current barriers to that is the impossibility of anyforeigner visiting Nigeria without knowledge of Nigeria. Another importance of pushing domestic

    tourism is to lead to openness in Nigerian society with attendant economic mobility, openness ofopportunity and the opportunity for lower middle class jobs.

    The final and perhaps most challenging would be locking in foreign investment in spite of

    international bearishness on Nigeria where companies who have been in Nigeria for 60 yearsroutinely repatriate profits.

    Vision Two: How to colonise West Africa.

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    1. Create Incentives for Nigerian companies moving into West Africa particularly in the areas

    of Aviation, Banking, Oil & Gas, Steel, Consumer Goods, Advertising & Media, Power,Telecoms and Education.

    2. Nigeria's second official language is French. This needs to be reinforced by introducingFrench on official Nigerian documents, subtitling media programs in French, creating a

    great number of French speakers etc.3. Start to make strong use of West African economic dependence on Nigeria to push an

    ECOWAS that pushes the Nigerian agenda. Nigeria needs to place a greater stake in

    ECOWAS as a foreign policy priority even beyond the AU, NEPAD and NAM etc.4. Promote the shared culture of West Africa which is perhaps best demonstrated in Nigeria.

    This can be promoted using events and media, but also using film, music, football sports

    and art. Nigeria needs to start pushing it internationally and in developing Nigerian tourismmust allow trickle-downs of inflows into West Africa to give West African nations a stake

    in promoting West Africa as a common culture. Nigeria just needs to go one better indemonstrating that West African cultural diversity converges in Nigeria while linking it to

    Caribbean and Diaspora cultures. If you love Brazilian music you should visit Nigeria

    where it all started.5. Aim to develop technological standards that West African nations can not aspire to but

    which they can share with Nigeria. For example, nuclear energy development, telecomssatellites, financial standards, military technology etc.

    6. Push the idea of Buy into Nigeria, get West Africa free.

    7. Competing with the Ports of neighbouring countries as the preferred port for Nigeria'sland-locked neighbours by ensuring efficiency, making duties and rates competitive and

    tying these to electricity supply and other leverages Nigeria currently has.

    Vision Three: How to Resolve the National Question

    Nigeria remains a mere geographic expression. The basis of unity exists but has not beenestablished beyond reasonable doubt. Fundamental to this is the unfortunate situation resultant

    from the fact that fiscal competition in Nigeria has been about who takes more and not who

    1. Convene a truly sovereign national conference which would originally negotiate the terms

    for Nigerian nationhood.2. Enshrine the derivation principle which allows states and local governments to collect their

    own revenue and pay taxes to the federal government. Irrespective of what the F.G.'s share

    would be, this principle would help keep all states viable or to put it differently, to obviate

    unviable states and stop the situation where whole states can't pay the meagre salaries oftheir own employees.3. Convert traditional rulership as an institution into a constitutionally guaranteed and defined

    role. The objective is to formalise their roles and bring the ethnic nationalities into

    government at all levels.4. Increase the constitutional function allocated to the local governments and create local

    governments to mirror ethnic and sub-ethnic arrangements. Allow local government statusto every hamlet that seeks it but enshrine a clear but fair revenue allocation mechanism that

    distributes collected revenue at source.

    5. Develop other natural resources which are abundant in Nigeria applying the same revenue-distribution standards.

    6. Ensure Universal Basic Education with strong universal teaching of civic and ethics.7. Reform the Land Use Act to enshrine communal ownership of land while establishing clear

    enforceable standards of ownership..

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    Vision Four: How to Improve Urban living standards

    1. Commission a re-design of the urban layouts for the ten largest Nigerian cities; Lagos,Kano, Port Harcourt, Kaduna, Abuja, Ibadan, Enugu, Onitsha, Benin, Abeokuta. This

    would map the as-is states of these states and then establish a desired state following whichclear action would then be taken to create the desired state looking into the future. Statesfailing to stick to the plan would then be sanctioned and fail to benefit from a special

    Federal fund for these cities.2. Set a new standard for the creation of new neighbourhoods and developments requiring

    basic infrastructure requirements to include cell-sites, banks, hospitals, public water source,

    National grid connection, etc.3. Wage a war against public filth in these cities by funding modern sewer systems, garbage

    collection and disposal, fines for public littering, pollution fines, and eradicate breedingsites for rats and mosquitoes, the two major causes of disease in Nigeria.

    4. Every Nigerian neighbourhood in the major cities of the South, have either a residential

    association, a land-lord association or both. These associations have mainly served to makesecurity arrangements in form of street gates and OPC payments, but also to fix rent prices.

    These associations with their direct contact with households, and the ability of thelandlords to press action, have a huge potential for strengthening and making local

    government effective. Many workable schemes could be built around them. One would be

    the use of local unemployed youths in the building, and maintenance of roads and otherpublic infrastructure with government organisation and resources. This could be built into

    local laws. Another workable scheme is the use of this organisations to check the deliveryof governance at the local level for example by constitutionally granting audit functions on

    these organisations, for example in the approval of public projects surpassing a certain

    threshold amount.

    5. Recruit 10000 police for each million of population in each of these cities. The post-reinforcement local governments, the states, local informal businesses, and localgovernments should have the burden of paying their salaries while they still belong to the

    federal government. The National service scheme could be expanded to include graduates

    of the Universal Basic Education schemes. These young people could volunteer uponreaching a set age, say 21, to serve in the local police forces, with their accommodation and

    basic needs covered, for three years following which they would qualify for fullscholarships in Nigerian Universities should they meet admission requirements

    6. The creation of full-scale comprehensive and well-thought-out mass transit schemes in the

    three biggest cities and Abuja, with all other cities coming on stream as resources become

    available in terms of population size and economic importance. These plans wouldintegrate light rail, subways, large bus services, taxis, water taxis and ferries (wherepossible) and rail services. Private companies can be chartered to build these services with

    contracts that become renewable and subject to competitive bidding and buy-out within a

    set period say 40 years. The money for the services would come from working the financialmarkets which are poised to increasingly develop muscle as consolidation occurs, stolen

    money is repatriated and informal sources are tapped. Also, there would be a payroll taxdeducted directly from the transport benefits of formally employed people over a set time,

    based on careful estimates. Another source are the churches and other religious

    organisations which tap a lot of money and can be induced to spend it on such a sociallydesirable cause. This does not need to constitute a tax but moral persuasion. The cities,

    states and local governments have to provide the right sorts of guarantees and incentives tothese charter companies. Where there are laws or statutes preventing this scheme, reform of

    such must become a priority.

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    7. Several new neighbourhoods need to be built in the 10 major cities, again with other cities

    being brought in as conditions allow. Some of the factors to consider in raising financing

    for this scheme is the attraction of mass-production builders with the right incentives tobuild economically. The Nigerian house needs to change to use more economical materials

    than are used now especially in view of favourable climate. Schemes sponsoring user-builthomes in the major cities need also to be considered and the mortgage system which is the

    most underutilised sector of the economy can be promoted despite Nigerians' strongaversion to long-term debt.

    8. In Nigeria's major cities, rents have risen constantly over time and, with rents being a

    significant portion of household incomes, has been a main contributing factor to inflationand declines in the standard of living. As the rents have risen, so have unfair fees, shirking

    of tenant rights, the charging of 2 years rental deposits, and the the passing of property

    owner costs to tenants. Worse still, the rental properties are themselves not maintained andoften basic facilities are not made available. For the sake of social justice this system has to

    be reformed. To lower the gap between the benefits derived by landlords and those derivedby tenants either of two things can be done; Enforce strict property standards, including

    maintaining houses in the appropriate way and delivering well-maintained rental properties

    to renters or simply the prevention of greedy fees and the practice of charging 2 year rentsin advance. Also necessary might be caps on rental rate increases.

    9. Recreation of green spaces within urban areas in the form of trees, plant covered walks,parks, fields, wooded areas etc.

    10. Massive building of sports facilities and public meeting places. These can be financed by

    constraining the Nigerian owambe crowd to rent these facilities for their parties.

    Vision Five: How to create effective political institutions

    1. Reverse the centralisation of power at the political and geographical centre in favour of the

    local government level. It might be necessary to create more local governments but thebulk of revenue earned and even political and legal control should remain with localgovernments where governance is closest to the people and the use of power and allocation

    of resources can be best monitored. The constitution should be amended to allow the

    executive at the centre to make representations to claim certain powers when needed butwith renewal clause. For example, the federal government could be denied of the sole right

    to maintain police forces. At the same time, the executive branch can be given the right tomeet certain certified conditions for having that power for limited periods upon the

    approval of the state executives and the central legislature with simple rules of passage.

    2. Create constitutional guarantee of judicial independence by creating a constitutional

    stipulation separating the expenditures for the judiciary and for the electoral commission3. Reform the electoral system such that all parties would be funded by the state while placinga strict cap on the amounts that can be raised from other means. The funding of parties

    would apply only to electoral matters, based on reimbursement of expenses spent on

    campaigning and allied matters.4. The role of traditional rulers as permanent public officials can be written into the

    constitution, for example giving them mayoral type duties over the cities, towns andvillages in their jurisdiction as defined today.

    5. Constitutional role given to office of due process which would be removed from the

    executive branch and placed under judicial control. A new unit in the office to handle allgovernment procurements which would be subject to oversight by the presidency.

    6. A reform of the military to give compulsory military training to all Nigerians reaching theage of 18 years. This service would nationalise all Nigerians, and eventually lead to the

    reduction of the military which, at this stage in Nigerian history is not needed at its current

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    size and which can be supplanted by volunteer armies as the need arises in the future. This

    would also delete the civilian-military power divide that exists in Nigeria.

    7. The teaching of civics in all Nigerian schools as a fundamental part of the curriculum toremove the bogey of uncivilised and unsocialised (non) citizens.

    8. Reform of the judiciary to improve access to justice and quality of service by; simplifyingand modernising Nigeria's laws, increasing the number of courts particularly those that

    would handle small claims, customary matters and civil suits. Reforming judicial procedureand making judicial processes more transparent. Improving the speed of judicial processes.Another way of improving access to justice would be to facilitate public defenders and

    citizen counsellors to provide legal assistance and services to low-income individuals. Stillanother reform necessary is the reform of tort laws to enable the ability of wronged parties

    to seek redress, especially against the government, its agencies and larger corporations.

    9. The creation of methods and means for the accurate enumeration of Nigerian property,streets, populations and monuments. The technology for this would become cheaper and

    more readily available and must be tapped. This would allow for very accurate planningand the effective use of government resources while also even engendering private

    enterprise.

    10. Operationalising a new principle which would require parties to field teams of runningmates with one political heavyweight and one wonk. This could be like the PDP fielding

    Ibrahim Babangida and Pat Utomi.11. Make it compulsory to publicise each gubernatorial, chairmanship or presidential

    candidate's entire range of potential political appointees (especially ministers ), allowing

    for their antecedents to be scrutinised by the public before they ever end up in office. Thiswould constrain executives to be much more discerning and careful in selection while

    weeding out the thieves and dark horses that get foisted on the public and sometimes eventhe executive.

    Vision Six: How to create effective economic institutions

    1. Post-consolidation, the banks should have more control over the board of the Central Bank.

    The operational aspects of the central bank should on the other hand be completely

    immunised from the banks and run as a corporation employing, retaining and developingpeople for the job of central banking.

    2. Creating a social security system on the backbone of Nigeria's extended family systemwhich already performs that function. One scheme could involve granting tax credits and

    tax refunds to tax payers who demonstrate the care of elderly, unemployed or inform

    members of their extended family.

    3. The mineral survey map of Nigeria should be vested, in principle, to a corporation ownedby all the Nigerian people with any purchases from the corporation going directly to a trustthat promotes investment in Nigerian minerals.

    4. Readjust the structure of the Nigerian economy from the colonial structure that it basically

    still has. The Nigerian economy is still oriented towards taking value outside Nigeria in itsrawest form just like in colonial days. For example, it is a fact that colonial policies made

    Nigeria a net food importer. It is necessary to roll-back the factors built into the system bycolonialism which created this. Post-Independence Nigerian governments have largely just

    taken the colonial template for running a country for their use without readjustments.

    5. Incentives should be given to move all Nigerians into banking sector participation. Forexample, affairs of state could require all payments in bank cheques and electronic cards.

    VAT discounts could be offered for cheque payments, etc. The goal of formalising theinformal sector is an important one and this is a prime method for achieving that objective.

    6. The granting of street trading licences (daily or weekly), with the proceeds going directly

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    to the building of new markets and commercial centres.

    7. Shoring-up the Naira by localising the foreign reserves, part-paying JV calls in Naira and

    making the major chunk of earned forex available for domestic use.8. Creating a credit rating, leasing and consumer credit system, that enables the dispensing of

    consumer loans for the purchase of capital goods like cars, houses etc.9. Competing with the Ports of neighbouring countries as the preferred port for Nigeria's

    land-locked neighbours by ensuring efficiency, making duties and rates competitive andtying these to electricity supply and other leverages Nigeria currently has.

    10. A very aggressive campaign to promote quality, environmental and innovation standards

    with rewards given in a market-driven incentive system.11. The national adoption of the Proudly Nigerian campaign and the liberalisation of the local

    textiles and clothing market including the industrialisation of traditional fabrics.

    12. The enforcement of intellectual property rights in view of Nigeria's potential in the globalEnglish language media.

    13. Reforming the structure of the oil industry. One of the prime goals has to be the eliminationof the joint ventures and production sharing contracts in which the Federal Government

    pays the the larger share of E & P costs in exchange for the same percentage of profits.

    This mechanism is outdated and unnecessary and only serve to isolate the Nigerianeconomy from external sources of finance while making large chunks of Nigeria's foreign

    exchange reserves unavailable for domestic use and creating a vicious circle of insufficientsupply of forex thus pushing down the value of the Naira. Even worse is that this practice

    keeps the vast majorities of operational expenditures outside of Nigeria despite the fact that

    these monies are financed at great costs to the Nigerian system. Another important reformnecessary is the need to remove government involvement in the sector with special taxes

    and royalties. The sector, despite its importance needs to have its preferred sector statusremoved, if only to erase government over-reliance on revenue from that sector for its

    revenues at the neglect of other sectors which contribute more to the national product band

    but less to government revenue, sectors like agriculture and industry. Another important

    reform is to improve the involvement of local communities in the oil industry. One goodway to do this would be to repeal laws that vest ownership of all mineral-holding land inthe Federal government. These lands should belong to the owners of the land who would

    need to be negotiated with by any corporations or interests seeking the minerals therein.

    14. Nigeria can easily become a major refiner of petroleum products. Refining capacityworldwide is in serious demand and would be for a long time. The United States for

    example, has not had new refineries built for decades due to an unfavourable regulatoryand economic environment. Nigeria can very easily fill the void, but this must never be

    done at the risk of domestic fuel prices which can remain a competitive factor for the

    Nigerian economy. Because of the superiority of Nigerian crude, its attractiveness for

    refining at cheap costs are great and must be promoted. The differentials in transportationand financing costs would eliminate the vicious cycle of fuel importation and subsidyremovals.

    15. The right to, and the protection of, private property is one of the most important

    fundamentals of a free industrialised economy. The Land Use Act of 1979 completelydistorted and continually distrusts this right and its importance. It vests all land in state

    governments with individuals only having temporary use. This was completely alien toNigerian cultures which have almost entirely always vested land in families and

    communities. It has also allowed governments to claim people's land without or with

    merely nominal compensation. It has also denied the owners of mineral-holding lands frombenefiting from the value of their property. This is ripe for reform even though reform of

    this industry is not entirely without serious practical challenges. The most serious iscreating a fair formula for apportioning land and returning land to its original owners. One

    simple formula that must be considered is to set up a commission that would develop

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    accurate guidelines for establishing ownership and then reviewing all lands with public

    and community input, before handing over lands that can their ownerships can be clearly

    and incontrovertibly proven. This would include all land in current occupation, existingtitle deeds and even those in legal contest. All other lands may vest in the state but the

    families in the area would have buy-out rights at market rates.16. Given Nigeria's technological backwardness and the fact that imports continue to be

    dominated by expenditures on machine parts and replacement parts for capital goods. Inchanging the current weak structure of Nigeria's economy, it is important to reverse thissituation. One way would be to improve the capability of local fabrication yards who can

    reverse-engineer machines, make spare parts, design and build new processes andequipment cheaper even if with lower quality.

    17. Building policy on the acknowledgement of government's failures and incompetence

    particularly recognising that taxes have gone unpaid. The idea would be to dramaticallyimprove tax collection but allowing a variety of tax breaks to deliver the various policy

    ends needed for social and economic change.

    Vision Seven: Reforming Social Institutions

    1. The Nigerian Police is crying for reform. It has to be the worst police in the whole wide

    world which has its corps buying their own uniforms and materials, and relying on 20Naira bribes for survival. The police must develop a clear capability in forensics. A

    database of criminal and offenders must be created and the ability of police to dial-in to

    access this database must be promoted. To improve discipline, it is possible to create groupinternal policing mechanisms such as peer-supervision, holding teams accountable for

    individual violations, and whistle-blower protection and reward. Psychiatric tests must beapplied regularly . Weapons use and fitness training and tests must be frequent.

    2. One thing that can be done to strengthen the health sector, is to specify a certain percentage

    of expenditures at all levels to be devoted primary health care, preventive medicine and

    social medicine. This would improve the delivery of primary health care and keep healthcare expenditures effective.

    3. As the church in Nigeria becomes ever more powerful, influential and rich, that institution

    now needs to be engaged with the ethical and developmental needs of society so that the

    vast sums contributed to the churches can fund universities, schools, transports systems andhospitals, filling-in the gaps where government can not be effective.

    4. Educational Sector5. Universities

    Vision Eight: Modernising Traditional Nigeria and yet keeping our cultural heritage.

    1. It is looking more and more apparent that the only way that Nigerian cultural values, norms

    and values can be protected would be by modernising them. Nigerian music has

    successfully undergone this transition with most of our traditional forms of music alreadysubstantially modernised to appeal to a populace with ever-increasing taste for all things

    Western. The Federal ministry of culture can do a lot to help promote new modernisedforms of all Nigerian art.

    2. Nigerian languages are starting to die off. With language being one of the prime

    components of culture, this is a disaster. As at January 2006, only one Nigerian language,Yoruba is a search language served by Google. This is another symptom of the constant

    erosion of Nigerian languages many of which still have no script, they are still not beingtranslated and their grammars and structures are not being studied. The solution to this is to

    start a 50-year program with the objective of developing scripts for all Nigerian languages,

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    developing literature in those languages and studying their language and structures. It is

    also important to sponsor government news in every single language.

    3. Nigerian ancient history is virtually unknown and told to us. There have been no significantstudies and expositions of Nigerian history done by Nigerians. More important, a lot of oral

    traditions have been allowed to be lost forever without record. Most of Nigeria remainsarchaeologically unexplored. For that reasons even the larger sub-nations/ethnic groups

    rely on myth and semi-truths to explain their very origin. A program must be done to havea 100 year trust to completely explore Nigeria archaeologically and investigate/explain theorigins of all Nigerian ethnic groups.

    4. A strong campaign must be started to reconstruct Nigeria's ancient artefacts wheresalvageable and to recover those stolen by the West. The West continues to lay claim to

    these treasures which dominate the museums of Berlin, New York, London, Rome, Paris

    and other cities. The moral claim to these treasures have never been higher and Nigeria, inconjunction with other owners of stolen treasure, including nations like Italy, must now

    establish the ability to secure these treasures and preserve them in perpetuity.5. There is no established Nigerian cuisine. Nigeria, by itself has extraordinary claims to great

    diversity and originality in food and the art of Nigerian food is deep and alive. Nigerian

    food must be developed using the same ideas, using new ingredients, and developed into acuisine in itself.

    6. It is also important to study Nigerian history to determine the values that have served ourpeople and cultures for centuries so that these can be promoted and developed even in these

    modern times so that these values can be combined into a unique Nigerian identity which

    combines all the values we have borrowed and help create consistency as we push forprogress.

    Vision Nine: How to create an open and plural society.

    1. Dealing with the sharia issue. Sharia may be in Nigeria to stay given the fact that reversingit where it has been passed may unnecessarily heat up the system. It can be dealt with inother ways by addressing the ways it threatens an open, pluralistic and secular society. One

    way is to give every single individual the right to chose whether to be subjected to sharia

    laws or not. This has to be determined at the point of law enforcement, where it is beingdetermined whether an individual's actions have violated the Sharia codes or not.

    Another way would be to designate areas in the Sharia states where the Islamic codewould not be applicable. Finally, all Sharia law cases must be subject not only to the

    Sharia court of appeals but ultimately to the supreme court.

    2. Repealing the indigene laws and preventing the discrimination against Nigerian citizens on

    basis of origin.3. Rebuffing the notion that Nigeria is a multi-religious state, a meaningless term. Getting ridof state sponsorship of religion. The most obvious forms are the sponsorship of the

    pilgrimages to Jerusalem and Mecca. There are so many others and these have to be

    removed.4. Another way to promote and ensure openness in Nigeria would be to balance development

    to ensure constant flow of people, goods and services across the nation in a seamless andeasy manner.

    5. Another way to promote an open society would be to protect the rights of non-indigenes of

    towns and cities to buy land and rent property at the going market rates.6. Passing laws that allow adherents of minority religions to observe their religious holidays.

    7. Reinstating the universities to their original status as open and free institutions inrepudiation of the growing encroachment on the status of the universities.

    8. A major campaign to eliminate secret societies in Nigeria using methods similar to those

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    used in the US and other places.

    Vision Ten:How to spark off the industrial revolution in Nigeria.

    1. Borrow and copy the Korean model of the chaebols, and enable these companies to cuttheir teeth in heavy industries while at the same time developing capability in organic

    industries.2. Create local fabrication capability.3. Readjust the structure of the Nigerian economy from the colonial structure that it basically

    still has. The Nigerian economy is still oriented towards taking value outside Nigeria in itsrawest form just like in colonial days. For example, it is a fact that colonial policies made

    Nigeria a net food importer. It is necessary to roll-back the factors built into the system by

    colonialism which created this. Post-Independence Nigerian governments have largely justtaken the colonial template for running a country for their use without readjustments.

    4. Better application of technology to basic tasks like food processing, cloth making, etc.5. Promotion of Nigeria's own technologists by the government using them and creating

    consortia of local firms if necessary to creation of capability.

    6. Aggressive promotion of processes, products, prototypes etc. which have been created byNigeria's universities, research institutions and government agencies, selling them to

    companies or funding start-ups based on these.7. Lock out the informal economy which is distortedly large and influential. In fact, it is

    believed that the large informal economy imposes costs on the Nigerian productive sector

    by creating an artificial scarcity of long-term loanable funds. In reality, the informal sectoris awash with funds that can create more money and which are loanable. The informal

    sector feeds the large import sector as well.8. Make the control of inflation and upgrading of the value of the Naira into a holy grail until

    Nigeria's productive base becomes substantial. This would be very important to ensuring

    the availability of long-term funds and the ability of Nigerians and Nigerian firms to

    procure foreign capital goods which is necessary in the near term.

    Vision Eleven: How to effectively bridge the digital divide with the west.

    By creating points of contact between the digitally left-behind and the world of ones andzeroes.

    By making the right technology choices flowing down from the right policies.

    Government's direct funding of the basic infrastructure needed for digital access.

    Connecting Universities, Research Institutions, and all federal or even state governmenteducational institutions.

    Affirmative action

    Flowing down from the above;1. Design and implementation of one single platform for e-governance for all levels of the

    government which would bring the entire government's transactional base on-line. Thiswould be followed with schemes allowing transactions to be performed using GSM phones

    and on-line. If for example citizens have to pay their children's fees using scratch cards

    validated over GSM phones, this would create huge employment for various people fromthose selling the cards to those who would buy GSM phones to render this service and

    promote the use of the phones. Similarly, if parents had to enrol their children on-line, thenthe cybercafes would boom. The whole point is to create contact points and to make more

    citizens digital users even if they are initially proxy users.

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    2. The government funding cheap nodal access to the Internet into underserved areas creating

    opportunities for people to render cheap access to the Internet in a variety of forms ranging

    from cybercafes to even school access. This combines affirmative action with the righttechnology choices and policy and funding.

    3. A policy that would instal one technology facility in every single village in Nigeria whetherit be a telecoms cell site, call centre, cybercafe, rural telephony site or whatever else.

    Vision Twelve: How to dramatically expand Nigeria's middle class.

    The Middle Class everywhere have the following basic characteristics; Ability to live through non-

    productive periods, more choices in terms of access to opportunities particularly as regards

    education, child care, skill acquisition and leisure, more stability in family life, access to samebasic social services as the rich, and skilled parents.

    Expanding Nigeria's middle class would involve schemes and policies to increase the numbers of

    population who have the above characteristics using households as the basis.

    1. Promoting especially working class families on the upper margins. We could set an income

    threshold and say a family earning x Naira with at least one skilled parent and thenfocusing on improving social services in neighbourhoods dominated by such people. In

    Lagos for example, such areas would be IBA or Obanikoro. This is very important because

    the impacts on such groups are highest. Perhaps because these people are oftenunderserved for the prices they pay. As an illustration, a family like this would often have

    to pay to send their kids to schools in another area since the better schools are private andare generally not located in the areas in focus. They thus pay a transport premium in

    addition to paying a disproportionate percentage of their income on private education.

    2. A scheme for people not covered by the Universal Basic Education scheme which are

    usually the poorest people who often can not afford getting their kids educated and ofteneven need the kids for their contributions to family earnings. One way to do this would beto pay a per diem allowance per child to skilled adults delivering informal skill transfers to

    children. This could include artisans training their own or other children but to qualify, the

    children could be required to have at least basic primary education with demonstrableliteracy.

    3. Pushing a policy of multiskilling policy economywide giving companies incentives to traintheir employees in a second skill area. Also giving grants to individuals to acquire second

    skills.

    4. Improving credit access in the economy enabling economical acquisition of capital goods

    like cars, houses, freezers, generators etc.5. Particularly creating a consumer credit scheme for households with stable addresses with atleast one skilled parent and skills in school.

    Vision Thirteen: How to create an effective government.

    1. Empirically demonstrate that the vast majority of government policies in the generation sinceindependence has been designed to favour the few over the many and it is now necessary to

    set the standard that each government policy must clearly benefit the majority of Nigerians.2. There is no way around downsizing the government which is too large for the country's

    business. Many of the things the government dabbles in are not needed by the country'scurrent situation and direction. Most of the employees, though mostly skilled have over yearsdemonstrated ongoing gross incompetence and redundancy.

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    3. A massive increase in wages in the government sector to bring them in line with prices of

    goods in the same economy. This would also serve to remove some of the reasons for graft.

    4. Remove opportunities for graft by making government decision making data-based and byautomating most of government's business.

    5. Creating a central procurement unit for the government which would report to the Nationalassembly with direct oversight by the Presidency. They would handle the purchase of all

    items and services used by the government and would have very clear streamlined fiscaltargets. Picking its board would fall in equal measure to both arms of government but itwould statutorily have some levels of guaranteed independence.

    6. Removing the pomp and excessive perks surrounding the largest offices to ensure that peoplewho want to serve are the ones who get into offices.

    7. There are just too many political offices handed by patronage. There are too many special

    assistants to special assistants. These must all be eliminated with executive counsel andassistance coming directly from within the civil service determined by merit.

    8. The Civil Service has to begin competing again for the best people. They can even becomethe employer of first choice in the economy by always talking to the best people from each

    class in each school. They also need to simply and consistently get the best people wherever

    they may be.9. Strengthening the decision making processes within the civil service to give the civil servants

    final say if they can support their positions using independent data. Strengthening theindependence of the bureaucracy.

    10. Opening government processes and employees to the people. Making government officers

    accessible to the people and removing the veil of secrecy, excessive security andimperviousness that protects bad decision making and unaccountability.

    11. A new principle of selecting Ministers and commissioners which would require that all jobsrequiring politics for success be purely political appointments while those jobs requiring

    performance and track-record be made purely on the basis of track-record and pedigree. This

    would require positions like the Minister of finance or the Head of Government to be

    occupied by heavyweight wonks while positions like the Minister of external affairs orinternal affairs would be occupied by politicians.

    Vision Fourteen: How to bring the rural poor into the 21 st. Century.

    1. Redistribution of agricultural land held by the government with support for scalable cash

    crops and the formation of cooperatives for joint acquisition and utilisation of fertiliser,Irrigation, and mechanised implements.

    2. Promotion of agri-processing cottage industries for rural people using cheap local

    technology with acquisitions financed by micro-credit.

    3. New housing developments in rural areas which use cheap materials to create housing toreplace huts and other rural housing. These developments will be built with sportsfacilities, television and video screening centres and cybercafes, rural telephony sites and

    libraries.

    4. Modernising traditional institutions like the traditional rulership, elders' congresses etc. tobring them in sync with the thrust of mainstream society. No Village left behind.

    5. One important strategy would be to initially focus on turning around urban areas andgetting their economies going. Once this reaches some level of self-sustainability, the

    government can then give long term priority to developing rural areas.

    Vision Fifteen: How to deal with religious divides.

    1. Dealing with the 'sharia issue.

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    2. Accepting multi-religiousity and teaching tolerance in schools as part of the socialisation of

    kids.

    Vision Sixteen: How to achieve food sufficiency.

    1. The technology that Nigeria needs for processing of food is available locally and cheap.Nigeria is very much close to sufficiency already and can very easily achieve bothsufficiency and even competitive advantage in some foods.

    2. Attracting investment into agriculture, utilising Nigeria's abundance of agricultural land.

    Vision Seventeen: How to bridge the gap between town and gown.

    The gap exists because the value chain around the universities and research institutes is broken. Inparticular, there is very poor definition of what value they should be rendering to whom, with

    which funds, using which resources, in which manner etc. Their relationships with their

    stakeholders are poorly defined and very poor.

    1. Decide with the universities who their customer would be and what value they wouldrender. The customer really ought to be employers who need a steady steam of well-trained

    people.

    2. The way they get funded should decide what value they ought to render. For example, ifthe current system persists in which the government covers funding, the value the

    universities ought to render is to deliver a steady stream of quality graduates. Moreimportant would be to deliver a steady stream of excellent research of the basic type

    leaving industry to do their own R & D. It might actually be better to have the universities

    become like a grand R & D department for the economy, fixing practical problems faced

    by industry.3. Fix the issue of funding. In Nigeria's case, the best funding formula would be for the

    government to pay the bills of students getting in on merit while others coming in on

    discretionary lists would be supported with student loans, and payment from parents,

    guardians and other sponsors. It would be desirable to have the research activities in theuniversities financed by the private sector with all issues of accountability and ROI fixed.

    4. Nigerian Research Exchange would be an organisation that liaises with the private sector todetermine industry research needs and then coordinate with the private sector to get

    funding for the research and find the intellectual resources to complete research projects.

    5. Using intelligence drawn from Nigerians going on sabbatical in universities abroad to

    determine gaps in curriculum and research direction while formalising and structuring theknowledge.6. The establishment of a central database for research findings in Nigeria.

    7. Creation of a central database with all the research findings of the research institutes in the

    last 80 years with all the applications for them specified and specific information aboutresources needed to utilise them.

    8. Create a system of funding ventures arising from the university system and the researchinstitutes.

    Vision Eighteen: How Nigeria can lead the first modern black civilisation.

    1. Become the international voice for black African issues. Everywhere black people areoppressed, killed, maimed or repressed, Nigeria should become the defender who is willing

    to rally the world for action or take action.

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    2. Nigeria itself becomes the world's solid black democracy fulfilling its potential by

    remaining a stable. Peaceful and prosperous democracy.

    3. Nigeria should make its foreign policy goals the same as black goals by doing more andmore business with black countries.

    4. Nigeria to become a haven for the best black minds.5. Creating policies that place Nigeria at the centre of contemporary black culture; music,

    movies, fashion, painting, sculpture, writing and everything else.6. Massive push for indigenous technological development.7. Nigeria's government to make policy and conduct governance as if it was doing so for the

    whole of Africa. In other words, the right language and mindset.

    Vision Nineteen: How to draw on our Western and Arabian heritage while leveraging ourtraditional values in the creation of a competitive national culture, while protecting ourculture and create a system of value reference points.

    1. It is impossible for Nigeria to turn away from Western or Arabian culture which have

    become ingrained into our way of life. It is possible however to keep studying the aspectsof Western and Arab culture that we want to blend with our own cultures which all have

    traits that made them persist through the ages.2. The commission of a massive study that would identify traditional indigenous values and

    identify the critical few values that are relevant to what Nigeria faces in the future by way

    of an accepted and and expressed vision of Nigeria looking into centuries. The identifiedvalues must then become part of the socialisation of Nigerians incorporating them into the

    teaching of history, languages, business and civics.3. A massive campaign must be begun to revamp and restore all Nigerian antiquities,

    traditional institutions festivals, artefacts and taking steps to cause the reawakening of

    Nigerians to the utility and value of these.

    4. Encouragement of the bringing of religion-inspired cultural artefacts into secular andmainstream use. For example, the ability of many Nigerians to speak and read Arabic givesNigeria many benefits, just like the speaking of English does. The traditional religions of

    Benin and Ife can be a source of tourist revenues if Nigeria can attract Caribbean and South

    American adherents of those religions without the stigma many Nigerians would attach tothat.

    5. Turn Nigeria into a melting point, a controlled meshing of cultures which if safe wouldinstantly become a magnet for various people.

    Vision Twenty: How to terminate all the ghosts of Nigeria's past.

    1. The acceptance of the fact that the North must have assurances given the fact that it hasfewer human and natural resources but was dominant at the onset of colonialism and the

    creation. Of Nigeria

    2. The acceptance that all people have the right to receive the most benefit from their ownresources.

    3. A negotiated settlement with all previous looters, coup-plotters, military collaborators andenemies of past society allowing them amnesty in exchange for them backing out of the

    political system.

    4. Wage a war against mediocrity as an enemy of merit and the creator of a dysfunctionalNigerian state.

    5. The socialisation of Nigerian youth to recognise cultural and ethnic differences but to beable to make decisions and function in society without recourse to ethnicity.

    6. The implementation of the Oputa Panel recommendations and a follow-up commission to

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    monitor the cases well into the future.

    Vision Twenty-one: How to get stolen and expatriated money back into the Nigerianeconomy.

    1. Legislation giving protection to indigenous Nigerian companies in preferred sectors likethe Oil, banking, telecoms and power while at the same time putting higher tax liabilities

    on Nigerians who maintain the bulk of their wealth abroad while at the same timeprosecuting many people for crimes committed over time and making it clear that if those

    monies are brought back to Nigeria by way of investment, crimes can be overlooked.

    2. Direct negotiation with the biggest culprits granting concessions for repatriation.3. Granting official seals or charters to products of companies with the bulk of ingredients

    and spare parts coming from within Nigeria with special incentives given.4. Dealing with the other non-corruption causes of capital flight like instability, low domestic

    capital formation, unstable currency, and pure exploitation.

    5. Political pressure on foreign companies who routinely repatriate profits by encouraging theleaving of profits in the Nigerian economy.

    Vision Twenty-two: How to develop an effective financial system.

    1. Consolidating on the benefits of banking consolidation by engendering the movement ofmoney and wealth out of the informal economy into the formal sector.

    2. Promoting the use of banking instruments like cheques, credit cards and ATM cards etc.3. Insurance sector consolidation and the encouragement on wider risk coverage.

    4. Promoting the mobilisation of and protecting pension funds particularly by the

    institutionalisation of pension fund management.

    Vision Twenty-three: How to protect our culture & create our own comprehensive system ofvalues reference points.

    Vision Twenty-four:How to develop citizens.

    1. Teaching civics in school and making citizenship a priority in socialisation. Teachingchildren how the Nigerian system should work, teaching ideals and glorifying the fatherland.

    Creating the ideal citizen through instruction thus imparting knowledge of rights, ethics,

    obligations, service and responsibility and all ideals Nigeria wants in its young.2. Reinstating pride in service by reforming the military and creating a new military that is

    civilised, disciplined and servile. Reforming all uniformed services and honouring theirwork by the protection of their welfare, the reward of their work and the protection of their

    dignity.3. Making the government work for the people in ways that people see that the system gives

    them a chance to exercise their stake in it. Responding to, and protecting the aspirations of

    the Nigerian.4. Promoting a true meritocracy where the good get far and the best rule the roost.

    5. Protecting minority rights and guaranteeing everyone a seat at the table with equal forks andknives in the carving of the National Cake.

    6. Protecting the benefits and pride of citizenship by creating and sustaining a system thatstands for the little guy and creates equal opportunity.

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    Vision Twenty-five: How to improve access to justice.

    1. Creating Offices of the Public Defender which would advise citizens about their rights andhelp connect them to resources for seeking redress from perceived oppression.

    2. Guaranteeing the constitutional right to petition the solicitor general who would bemandated to take on every petition to give a best case attempt to right the wrongs that are

    presented to this office.3. Comprehensive review of Nigerian laws to take out draconian laws, outdated clauses,

    activate redundant protections, and improve the legal system.

    4. Reform of the prison system, building new prisons, creating a system of constant review ofpending cases and the welfare and status of inmates.

    5. Improvement of legal knowledge within the police and security forces. Reforming police

    procedures to remove or continuously reduce opportunities for abuse.6. Facilitating the work of public coroners to perform mandatory investigation into every

    death to determine cause and making local government officials criminally liable forunclaimed corpses and the failure to establish cause of death for deceased Nigerians.

    7. Controlling the proliferation of arms in Nigeria by removing undocumented arms or

    otherwise allowing everybody the right to bear arms.8. Reforming the courts to create more civil, customary and small-claims courts while

    continuously upgrading judicial procedures to create more transparency, speed and equityin court processes.

    9. Correct historical injustices dating from the time of the formation of Nigeria either true the

    truth and reconciliation process or the creation of a special ombudsman to address suchissues.

    10. Removing double standards in the application of the law by guaranteeing some basicprinciples in all laws enforced by all levels of government.

    11. Staunchly dealing with high-level crimes and corruption by making a clear, consistent and

    extensive demonstration of equality before the law and supremacy of laws.

    Vision Twenty-six: How to define Nigeria's foreign policy.

    1. Comprehensive review of Nigeria's foreign policy so far to match the costs so far to thebenefits.

    2. Defining Nigeria's interest in line with Nigeria's vision and plans for the future.3. Strongly push Nigeria's non-alignment to expand ties with countries across world divides

    and blocs.

    4. Tying Nigeria's foreign policy ends to the ends of the black world, expanding beyond

    Africa into the diaspora.5. Negotiating freedom of international travel for Nigerians by committing to takeresponsibility for Nigerians living off the public charge in foreign countries.

    6. Dramatically improve Nigeria's relations with African countries by attracting concessions

    which allow Nigerians easy access to African countries and facilitating inter- and intra-regional transportation

    Vision Twenty-seven: How to define Nigeria's military policy.

    1. By building on the fact that Nigeria has peaceful neighbours, drawing down on military

    size, building up defence industries to create technology intensiveness in warcraft andmaking military training compulsory for the youth and maintaining a reserve force.

    2. Seriously re-evaluating Nigeria's role in international peacekeeping which has drawn it

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    very little benefits over the years. Committing only to peacekeeping in neighbouring

    countries, prevention of the killing of black people and counties where Nigeria has a high

    economic stake.3. Promoting and expanding ECOMOG 's capabilities.

    4. Formalising Nigeria's principles of non-aggression, non-alignment and multilateralism.

    Vision Twenty-eight: How to develop tourism in Nigeria.

    1. Guaranteeing safety of lives and property.2. Creating an effective road network and transportation system.

    3. Bringing Nigeria into the mainstream of world consciousness through Nigerians in the

    diaspora . One idea to achieve this is a bring someone to visit program giving a small airlinerebate to any guest of a foreign -resident Nigerian.

    4. Establishing Nigeria as the centre of black culture by building on its huge influence on blackmusic, thought, arts and science.

    5. Fill the knowledge and curiousity gap of Westerners about Africa. They generally believe

    that Africa is fascinating and dangerous but really know very little about what there is to seein Africa. One good way to do this is through media, particularly the creation of media that

    can replace BBC, AFP, Reuters,VOA & CNN as the voices of Africa.

    Vision Twenty-nine: How to create Nigerian literature into an institution that creates, ideas,synthesise ideas, propagate them and permeate the minds of Nigerians.

    1. Jump-start Nigeria's publishing industry. One way would be for the Federal Government to

    as a first step buy publishing rights to the textbooks used in Nigeria and then award these

    rights to local publishers who meet certain criteria like the literary expertise of its

    management, number of publishable works, use of Nigerian technology in publishing andquality of works it holds. The idea is to share the financial risks of publishing andincentivise a whole industry.

    2. Making the development of local publishing technology a key component of the country's

    technological development plans.3. Fostering a Nigerian literary institute which would develop literary standards, regulate (but

    not censor) the publishing industry and recognise excellence in various dimensions.4. A massive drive to turn every literate Nigerian into a regular reader.

    Vision Thirty: How to reform the press and return to a free press.

    1. A new code of journalistic ethics that explicitly acts against the brown envelope

    syndrome that has seriously threatened press objectivity and independence.2. Act to encourage primary collection of news among Nigerian news media in place of the

    overreliance on agency news and press conferences.3. Development of the business model to cheaply deliver truly national newspapers,

    delivering the same news across the country everyday.

    Vision Thirty-one: How to remove money from politics.

    1. Public funding of the electioneering process of all parties meeting set criteria with the

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    system working through the post-payment of receipted and competitively incurred

    expenses.

    2. A law requiring that the account statements of all parties to be published in the newspapersevery quarter.

    3. Setting caps on the amounts of money that can be raised by a party and tying it tomembership such that each party could be allowed, for example, to raise 3000 Naira per

    registered member. Membership would be defined as active members who attend thegeneral convention of each party. For logistical purposes, state conventions could suffice.

    4. Setting very stringent conditions on the violations of electoral rules regarding finance

    stipulating outright suspension from the ballots or other penalties as might be compatiblewith the constitution.

    5. Strict enforcement of money-laundering and other financial/electoral laws that prevent

    many of the nefarious actions of using money to corrupt the vote.6. Giving individuals the locus standi to take legal action against people who use money to

    corrupt votes.7. Deal with the questions of piracy and intellectual property protection and establish even the

    arts as part of the economy.

    Vision Thirty-two: How to remove the ethical gap that exists in Nigerian public life.

    1. Pushing for a renaissance in ethics by changing individual lives and using the media and

    other methods to demonstrate the aggregated costs of failure to society.2. Bringing back Nigerian politics to the level of ideology and vision and making politics

    unprofitable for the unethical and corrupt.3. Getting all Nigerians passing through the Nigerian school system to commit to a national

    code of ethics.

    4. Requiring all industrial and trade unions to induct their members with codes of ethics and

    making the violation of these actionable in court.5. Enlisting religious institutions in the drive to overcome unethicality. Promoting

    meritocracy in Nigeria by creating a system in which each individual's track record is

    within the public sphere.

    Vision Thirty-three: How to develop a transportation backbone for Nigeria.

    1. A plan that commits to connect every village to the national primary road network even if

    the built roads are mere dirt roads.

    2. Development of the railways by relying on Nigerian technology to build them with partsthat can not be made in Nigeria imported.3. Eliminating danfo services countrywide due to its inefficiencies and finding a way to

    preserve the capital of the danfo owners.

    4. Multifaceted approach to designing transport systems for urban areas combining varioustransportation means.

    5. Data-driven approach to the planning of roads, traffic and transportation system interfaces.6. Proactive, long term planning of transportation systems.

    7. Ensuring that the transportation system can conserve energy while moving people and

    cargo very cheaply.

    Vision Thirty-four: How to develop a fair fiscal and revenue-generation arrangement for

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    Nigeria.

    1. Removing all laws, policies and business models that centralise the exploitation ofresources, especially natural resources.

    2. Following domestic best practices in revenue generation for other levels of governmentwhich, so far have involved, automating collection, collection of collectable revenue.

    3. Enshrinement of the derivation principle in revenue generation and distribution in Nigeriaby acknowledging that revenue is best generated and monitored at the local level ofgovernment and this arrangement best serves equity.

    4. The actual collection of taxes, duties and other collectable revenues by the FederalGovernment while adapting progressive tax regimes and giving tax breaks to support social

    security at the individual level.

    5. Simplification of Nigeria's tax code and the unification of the entire tax regime applicableacross Nigeria at all levels.

    6. Driving the federal government to the level where tax and duties are the major revenueearner for the government as opposed to what has been the norm in Nigeria. This reform is

    necessary given the general knowledge that the model of oil and gas industry adopted in

    Nigeria is unsustainable and inequitable and that oil would dry up in decades anyway.7. Retain the greatest fraction of collected revenue at the local level with the bulk actually

    going into village and town councils.8. Adopt the principle that communities and individuals generate revenue and acknowledge

    that the Federal Government by itself does not have any natural right to revenue so earned

    by communities and individuals.9. Strengthening the way communities and individuals actually generate revenue and ensure

    that this organic approach is the basis on which private enterprise in the Nigerian economyis based.

    10. Protect the minority rights of areas that do not generate adequate revenues by ensuring that

    richer areas take on the burden of sustaining these areas. In other words, majority rule but

    minority rights.

    Vision Thirty-five: How to capitalise on Sino-Indian goals of exporting technology.

    1. Nigeria has to aim to gain the best of both worlds by maintaining its standing with the

    Western Oil companies while at the same time, being able to gain technology from theSino-Indian bloc. One way to do this is to protect the large oil companies but make it easier

    for Sino-Indian companies to acquire Nigerian companies who are protected by

    indigenisation policies if technology transfer is involved.

    2. Creating the environment that allows for the creation of huge companies based ontechnology transfer in exchange for capital.3. Leverage Nigeria's economic power in Africa by using Nigerian companies with Sino-

    Indian technology to allow Chinese and Indian companies into African markets.

    4. Allowing Sino-Indian multinationals access into the big ticket segments of the Nigerianeconomy and setting strict requirements as time goes by specifying levels of domestic

    R&D that must be done by these companies as well as setting standards for technologytransfer and turnaround.

    5. Foreign policy is also important in this respect and it would very much depend on Nigeria's

    ability to remain non-aligned despite huge pressure to align with America's foreign policythrust.

    Vision Thirty-six: How to reinstate the privilege of Nigerian citizenship.

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    1. The first and most obvious is to restore the benefits of citizenship by establishing a clear

    set of benefits to be derived from Nigerian citizenship.2. Active support of Nigerians in the diaspora in the quests of their lives abroad.

    3. Negotiating for and insisting on dignified treatment of Nigerians by foreign authorities asthe precondition for diplomatic ties with every country.

    4. Create a system for truly rewarding the people who truly serve and create benefits forNigeria and its people.

    5. Achieve and then leverage national competence in sports and arts as an easy means to

    shore up Nigerians' pride in Nigeria.6. Make Nigeria the pride of the black world by achieving basic distinction in political

    reforms, surging economic growth, the arts, tourism, foreign affairs and politics. Make

    Nigeria decent in the eyes of the world and make it look like the best of the black world. Itis all about perception.

    7. Absolutely protect the security and human rights of every single Nigerian citizen inNigeria.

    Vision Thirty-seven: How to leverage the economic power of Nigerians in the diaspora and ofother blacks in the diaspora.

    1. Negotiate with the multilateral institutions to create a Nigeria diaspora fund managed by

    the IFC which can be invested in new ventures, Nigerian treasury bills and Nigerianstocks.. The Nigerian government can subsequently be able to draw up on as loans for

    financing capacity building projects.2. Create an industry which simply targets the delivery of services and products to Nigerians

    abroad and using them as a base for Nigerian companies to enter foreign markets.

    3. Remove taxes on money repatriations from Nigerians abroad.

    4. Enable the use of assets held by Nigerians abroad as collateral for obtaining financing inNigeria.

    5. Grant them a say in the decision making process at home.

    6. Negotiate with Western powers to obtain concessions relating to businesses either targeting

    Nigerians abroad or businesses owned by Nigerians abroad which have dealings in Nigeria.7. Targeting rich and influential members of the black diaspora from other countries and

    granting them business concessions in Nigeria. The goal of this is to establish Nigeria as aninvestment destination for black people. This would also push tourism in Nigeria and

    increase the number of global voices talking in Nigeria's favour internationally.

    Vision Thirty-eight: How to reverse the brain-drain.

    1. Increase the minimum wage and constantly enact measures that would boost productivity.

    Wages in Nigeria are too low to keep skilled people in Nigeria. While Nigerian wages can

    not be at Western levels, it can surely be at subsistence levels.2. Jump-start the Nigerian offshoring industry.

    3. One approach is to aim to obtain as much of the economic activities of Nigerians, Africansand blacks in the diaspora by fostering a whole industry that delivers goods and services to

    these people.

    4. Insist that all aid and development programs in Nigeria be filled by Nigerians. There is novalue to aid programs that bring highly paid foreign nationals to do development work in

    Nigeria when there are capable Nigerians who can take these jobs.5. One counter-intuitive approach is to create global mobility for the best-qualified people

    and creating financial incentives that encourage them to make a base in Nigeria even while

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    working all over the world. The incentives could include help financing houses and

    acquiring houses in Nigeria, grants for skills acquisition, lower tax rates, pension incentives

    etc. The logic is that since most people leaving Nigeria are leaving for financial benefitarising from the greater number of opportunities available abroad, if there are financial

    bases for making Nigeria a base while working in global consulting for example, peoplewould do so.

    6. To really inform and educate Nigerians about life abroad to bring reality into theromantic views of living abroad that many Nigerians have.

    7. Use Nigerian talent to develop Nigeria by creating some grand and audacious projects to be

    built using Nigerian technology and capabilities even if it may be necessary to have foreignconsultants.

    Vision Thirty-nine: How to get our country back from the stooges of imperialism.

    1. Establish empirically that Nigeria has been a slave to imperialism which, aided by grossfailure of the Nigerian state, has been a major underdevelopment factor.

    2. Establish Nigerian interests intellectually and create a consensus on these.

    3. Establish a popular vision for Nigeria, publicise it widely and educate Nigerians at alllevels in their various groups and segments what each of these portend for them so that

    they have a standard with which to measure the performance of their institutions andleaders.

    4. A popular movement. It has been said that whatever would change Nigeria would be a

    revolution, our goal is just simply to ensure that it is a peaceful and silent revolution.5. Obtain all looted money and disgrace the Nigerians who make money in Nigeria and chose

    to leave the money abroad, the factor which has been Nigeria's death knell and theperpetrators of which have been those who have adopted policies that favoured foreign

    states and institutions infinitely more than the Nigerian people.

    6. Readjust the structure of the Nigerian economy from the colonial structure that it basically

    still has. The Nigerian economy is still oriented towards taking value outside Nigeria in itsrawest form just like in colonial days. For example, it is a fact that colonial policies madeNigeria a net food importer. It is necessary to roll-back the factors built into the system by

    colonialism which created this. Post-Independence Nigerian governments have largely just

    taken the colonial template for running a country for their use without readjustments.

    Vision Forty:How to achieve emancipation from neo-colonisation and neo-imperialism.

    1. Formally acknowledge that this exists and has been a factor. Consequently study how it

    works and dismantle the frameworks and structures that enable it.

    2. Non-aggressive but very firm foreign policy that establishes very clearly, using solideconomic data, Nigerian interests and where there are opportunities for mutual benefits.3. Renounce foreign aid. Nigeria does not need foreign aid which has only existed to create

    and sustain dependence. The only exception would be where aid resources are directed at

    individuals and not communities, government and institutions.

    4. Dissociate from organisations that were set up for the sole purpose of extending 3 rd. World

    dependence and push for the creation of alternative organisations to achieve this end (e.g.ACP).

    5. Resist cultural dumping which is a term that describes where cheap news, TV programs,

    books, films etc. are imported into Nigeria without payment of duties and and thereforecrowd out competing Nigerian programs. The idea is not to resist foreign culture but to

    regard it as an import and a creator of demand for foreign goods and treat is as theeconomic phenomenon that it is.

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    Vision Forty-one: How to create a Nigeria that westerners can truly live in.

    For Nigeria to develop, the owners of capital must be able to live in Nigeria. We need their money

    and we need their money in Nigeria.

    1. Deal with security and policing issues by particularly continuing with the very good track-

    record that Nigeria has had with the security of expatriates.

    2. Aim to keep every single expatriate that comes into Nigeria by offering incentives for

    settlement like creating safe havens even within Nigeria. In other words, create someplaces that are better than the rest of Nigeria and safe such that expatriates can maintain the

    same lifestyles they would lead in a western country and assistance towards settlement.

    3. Recognise and project non-indigenous Nigerians of Indian, Syrian, Lebanese and otherancestries which have had a long history as settled people in Nigeria.

    4. Project the face of modern Nigeria and help foreigners see that there are two Nigerias, one

    that is modern and westernised and one that is not. Enrich the attraction by offering a mix.

    5. Make one particular expatriate safe haven in Nigeria as the base for expatriates working inthe oil sector and other industries in West Africa and thus building on any successes that

    may be achieved in the drive to make Nigeria an economic hub.

    Vision Forty-two: How to stop racism and sexism in Nigeria.

    1. Dismantle the racist and discriminatory practices of multinationals in Nigeria particularly

    relating to discrimination in favour of white people and foreigners. Create a publicombudsman to deal with this issue.

    2. Disabuse Nigerian minds of the notion of being inferior to Caucasians and other lighter

    skinned people.

    3. Pass and enforce legislation protecting the reproductive, work, physical and spiritual rights

    of women in Nigeria and thus allowing more women access to the same opportunities asare available to men.

    Vision Forty-three: How to protect our environment and achieve sustainability.

    1. Review compensation rules for environmental damage and create a strong monitoring andcorrection machinery.

    2. Commission a comprehensive study of the Nigerian environment, particularly in areas

    most threatened by human activity and determine the specific threats, objectives andapproaches.

    3. One very important thing to do is to aim to formalise traditional agricultural practices likefallow methods etc.

    4. Use the same model used for allocating other scarce resources for allocating adverse use of

    the environment and auction off use of the environment, whether for logging, reclamationfor agriculture or for the mining of mineral resources. In other words, companies could pay

    upfront for whichever of their activities adversely affect the environment. A manufacturercould for example pay for each cubic centimetre of nitrous oxide it releases into the

    environment. Having an accurate calibration system nationwide would be a key issue but

    also important is to allow start-ups a free pass by waiving fees for their first years or

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    allowing deferment of payment.

    5. Comply with the Kyoto protocol.

    6. Despite being an energy-rich country with less need for energy than the nations of theNorthern hemisphere, it is imperative for Nigeria to already make energy conservation and

    clean fuels a priority.7. Ensure that mass transit systems are created that make public transport preferable to public

    transport.8. Create effective programs for renewing the parts of the Nigerian environment that are

    renewable. Examples are trees, green spaces and marine life, among others.

    9. An urgent program of urban greenification to create truly garden cities.10. Shore up the national park system and work for continuous improvement in their

    capability.

    11. Creation of a recycling system and also a system for disposal of non-renewable wasteespecially oils and corrosive materials.

    Vision Forty-four:How to become a world leader in sports and the arts.

    1. Every child in every Nigerian school must, at all levels, play at least one sport or game.

    2. Consequently, every community must be provided with government recognised coachesand instructors who would develop a nationwide program for youth sports and their

    delivery.

    3. Massive investment in building sports facilities in every Nigerian community starting withthe urban areas where land is scarce and fields are most lacking.

    4. Provide equipment for youth sports in every school providing balls, nets, and otherparaphernalia.

    5. A national athletes bread kitchen program which would create government subsidised food

    kitchens across the nation with exclusive access to individuals who meet certain standardsin their sporting careers. Such individuals would be individuals of every age who

    participate in community or school sports and are registered nationally as having met thosestandards.

    6. Helping the establishment of domestic gym equipment manufacturers and build an industry

    of public gyms in every neighbourhood.7. Channel the passion of Nigerians for football by fixing the football association and making

    it capable of delivering consistent international success.8. Build on Nigeria's natural advantages, for example in training long-distance runners among

    the Fulani in the highlands, swimmers of the riverine Ijaw, etc.

    9. Help create a sports industry in Nigeria by promoting successful business models for

    commercial football as a priority. Aim to attract investment in this industry and concedethe government-owned stadia to individuals, to help create opportunities for successfultelevision coverage of live football and

    10. Use churches and other religious organisations as to promote sports in Nigeria by enlisting

    the organised religious bodies in carefully designed schemes. This way, deeply religiousNigerians to combine a healthy spiritual life with healthy bodies. This way, the organising

    ability of these organisations and their wealth of resources can be tapped.11. Reform the sports associations by cleaning out the jobbers and political appointees who

    dominate them in favour of people whose livelihoods and lifestyles represent each specific

    sport.

    Vision Forty-five: How to solve the housing problem.

    1. Remove the artificial scarcity of built houses nationwide by making government-owned

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    companies the competitor of private owners who dominate a market that has functioned

    like an oligopoly.

    2. A rent to own business model offered by local or urban government-owned housingcompanies which would build, rent out apartments and then deem the rents paid by a tenant

    for two to five years as a down payment for a mortgage which the government ownedcompany subsequently assists the individual with getting.

    3. Channel long-term money into the construction industry and use legislation to removepractices geared at short-term recovery of building investments like demand for 2-yearrents, etc.

    4. Decent one-bedroom apartments as a building model which would be an improvement onthe rented room

    5. Hostel system for young people who would not mind sharing their living spaces for lower

    housing costs and reasonable living standards, i.e. good location, amenities like satelliteTV, recreational facilities, group transport and shuttle services etc.

    6. Rebuilding homesteads and villages by helping the rural poor build new homes out ofcheap materials with the idea that even very modest modern houses are better than huts,

    shacks and mud houses.

    Vision Forty-six: How to tap the Nigerian potential.

    1. Recognise that the greatest Nigerian potential is the infinite creative power of every

    Nigerian to create enduring value using resources in its environment and subsequently

    subject every government or corporate policy to the standard that each policy must satisfythis objective and advance the ability of Nigerians to do this.

    2. Make the government effective such that N1 delivers multiples of N1 value to the country,its citizens or its environment.

    3. Leave no resource unutilised or underutilised.

    4. Achieve self-sufficiency in food production.

    5. Teach every Nigerian child and ensure that each child excels in at least one thing.6. Search and dig deep within our history, our environment and our culture to find the

    confluence of Nigerian cultures that is optimal and world-beating.

    7. Strive towards nationalism as a national priority and create true citizens of a utile state.

    8. Ensure that all government and corporate (corporate refers to any group) actions alwaysaim to deliver benefit to the majority.

    9. Eliminate poverty from the face of Nigerian earth by delivering good nutrition to all.10. Create systems that learn, iterate and continually improve autonomously.

    Vision Forty-seven: How to achieve social security in Nigeria.

    1. Make the Nigerian extended family system the basis of social security by enabling

    individuals to take care of the poor, infirm, incapacitated and incapable of the society who

    are nearest to them and which they are responsible for or obliged to.2. Ensure that social security schemes created by government do not in any way detract from

    the ability of the state or its citizens to achieve their economic goals.3. Base social security on mass buying and expenditure but leave its operations under

    autonomous and quasi-market based structures.

    4. Tally the cost of social security to each individual's economic power. In other words,progressive principles.

    5. Use social security to create economic opportunities in ways such as ensuring thatunemployment benefits are mostly expended on getting the unemployed s