Bill Gates and the Nigerian Government By Dr. Okolo Oteri Eme

So Bill (from reports) says the economic template being used by Nigeria does not have the ability to address the unique needs of its people. In his opinion it addresses people in the ‘upper middle-income status’ like Brazil, China and Mexico. Where is China economically again?

He says the ERGP focuses on ‘prioritizing physical capital over human capital ‘. He wants to see more investment in health and education or else there would be a LIMIT to how much the country can grow.

So the chicken and the egg which comes first?

It is no secret that the budgetary allocation to health and education has remained abysmally low over the years, worse still the fraction that is eventually released is subject to all sorts of beaurocracy and corruption. Most is spent on wages and entitlements. The infrastructural gaps in these sectors have been the subject of discussions over the years.

Now that we are here what do we do? Do we chase the chicken or the egg, or do we chase them both in a balance that addresses specific goals within a time frame given scarce and dwindling resources?

Are the economists etc that sat down to put together the ERGP idiots? Definitely not.

Is there coherence in government policy and implementation so far? My answer from what I see is YES.

Historically our weakness has never been in policy or on paper, it has always been in implementation. The devil has always been in political will and corruption. The presence of the aforementioned in this administration and its willingness to fight corruption via TSA etc is the reason I think they have a fighting chance. I will always give them that chance until I see them veer away completely from the straight and narrow.

I see this administration chasing the chicken and the egg at the same time in a balanced manner geared to achieve both human and physical capital goals in a manner that delivers optimally for a nation that had squandered its resources in the past and is now faced with lean years. It seems to me that they are tackling the issues in a stepwise manner that ensures that the egg can hatch without leaving the mother hen to die.

Can we focus completely on education without physical infrastructure? Will the bad roads not kill the children before they get to school? Or do we not need roads for acces to schools? Should the investment in health not be accessible by good roads and bridges? Are we not addressing and seeing significant improvements in school enrollment as a result of the school feeding program? What of the massive investment in the N5,000 to the most vulnerable? Did we not agree that this investment in the poor was a risk worth taking? What of the investments in Agriculture for food security (can hungry people develop?) and the fight against terror?

I know we all want Nigeria to work in a hurry but realistically that is impossible. However I expect government to sit like a hawk over its plans and policies ensuring that they deliver on their goals within their time frame.

The three planks on which they campaigned cannot be faulted; Security, fight against corruption and diversification of the economy.

I expect all levels of government to key in and play their roles in healthcare (primary health care is mainly the responsibility of states and local governments) and education. FG needs to focus more on primary and secondary education leaving tertiary to the hands of private individuals as obtains in Bill’s America.

We need to plan for health insurance especially to the poor and vulnerable, we need to set a target for reducing out of pocket payments for health. Our hospitals need investment in infrastructure, we need to train and retrain staff. This cannot be done by government alone. The private sector and individuals have a huge role to play. Bill is not a Nigerian, he has devoted a huge chunk of his wealth to tackling polio, HIV etc in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.

We all need to do our part.

Nigeria is changing for the better, I hope we stay the course.