Five things Tinubu should do to fix Nigeria – Arewa youths
The National President of Arewa Youths Consultative Forum, AYCF, Yerima Shettima has set a five-point agenda for the President Bola Tinubu administration. President Tinubu upon assumption of office, vowed to change the economic and security template of the country. Within two weeks, he carried out a major shake-up, leading to the sack of all the Service Chiefs. He had earlier relieved Abdulrasheed Bawa of his duty as the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, INEC, and Godwin Emefiele as the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, governor, amid other reform policies. Shettima told DAILY POST that the President had taken major bold steps so far. He went ahead to outline five major areas of focus for the new administration. SECURITY Shettima expressed optimism that Tinubu would make giant strides in tackling insecurity in Nigeria. He noted that the sack of the Service Chiefs and immediate replacement was a sign that Tinubu was determined to tackle insecurity. Shettima said: "Tinubu is an advocate of restructuring and true federalism, but he might not want to do it directly. For instance, what happened yesterday, was one of the best things he has done by sacking those Service Chiefs. This is a clear indication that he is all out to confront insecurity by bringing fresh ideas and people to tackle it. "Making Ribadu his NSA was a good thing because he is very principled and does not tolerate corruption, not because he was a former EFCC Chairman, but because he's a no-nonsense person. So, I'm sure we are progressing in the area of insecurity." ANTI-CORRUPTION In the area of corruption, Shettima said Tinubu has shown Nigerians his determination to subdue the hydra-headed monster in the country with the sack of Bawa and Emefiele. He said: "We can see from his body language that Tinubu is out to fight corruption by bringing Bawa to book; but beyond him, there are others like governors who served under the last administration who should be brought to book on account of what they have done. "Somebody like Hadi Sirika must be brought to book and made to explain that last-minute scam because that's an abuse of our sensibilities as Nigerians. " ECONOMY He charged Tinubu to end states' dependency on the federal allocation, stressing that they should be made to pay taxes. "Though our economy is very bad, the centre can't hold, state governors should go back to their state and begin to harness their resources. If possible, the constitution should be amended rather than depend on federal allocation, states should be useful by ensuring the payment of tax to the centre, so that the burden will be lesser at the centre now," he said. AGRICULTURE The AYCF National President urged the President to diversify the economy by encouraging agriculture and ensuring the sector is managed by capable hands. "Beyond looking for oil, they should diversify the economy by looking at Agriculture. Let's have people who know what it takes, even if it means bringing expatriates on how to make agriculture so that that sector can do better. "This government must ensure that our educational sector must be very functional by allocating good money there and supervising it properly, not like the case of Buhari who put people there without any supervision," he said. OPENING OF BORDERS "Tinubu should open up the land borders for import and export, though with restrictions. The Customs, Immigration and those responsible should know that it won't be business as usual. This will help in ensuring that we don't have a porous border where everything comes in and goes out," he said.