Great things to expect as this year unfolds marking the
Nigeria’s centenary.
The Nigerian this day newspaper unfolds a long list of
expectations as the Nigerian centenary celebration counts down
It has been a long and winding journey, chequered by rough
and historic experiences. A hundred years ago, Nigeria came into existence,
courtesy of the christening of the northern and southern protectorates by Flora
Shaw, the mistress of Lord Lugard, the then Governor General of Nigeria. Godwin
Haruna highpoints some of the expectations of Nigerians in this landmark age of
the country
What else should Nigerians look forward to in this year of
amalgamation? While we waited for this epoch, stories of eventual
disintegration filled the air. However, having emerged from British
colonisation, which lasted for 46 years, a civil war of almost three years and
29 years of autocratic military interregnum, analysts believe that there is
nothing too difficult for a resilient country like Nigeria to overcome. That Nigeria
survived all these crises of her nationhood and emerged as one indivisible and
indissoluble country to witness this centenary is worth celebrating regardless
of the pessimists’ calls for balkanization before today.
The National Conference
Whether it is the National Conference or Dialogue, this is
one event that promises to shape the polity in 2014. The groundswell of
opposition to the National Conference when President Goodluck Jonathan
announced its composition is almost equal to its advocates. However, with the
submission of the Senator Femi Okuruoumu-led Presidential Advisory Committee,
which was saddled with the responsibility of designing a framework for the
conference, the president said the talkshop would be conducted this year.
During the report submission, the committee had urged the
federal government to ensure the conclusion of the exercise by June 2014 to
pave the way for the 2015 general elections. Already, the president has
confirmed this while receiving the 4,000-page report of the committee from
Okurounmu that the national conference would hold early this year. Debates have
also raged concerning its composition, this too will be sorted out in the
coming weeks if not days.
Heated Polity
As preparation for the 2015 general elections reach
crescendo, Nigerians should expect a heated polity in 2014. Nigerians have
started witnessing such altercations from the exchange of letters from former
President Olusegun Obasanjo and the incumbent, Jonathan. Again politics
promises to be a platform that would generate much acrimony with gubernatorial
elections due to hold in Ekiti and Osun States.
More than ever before, Nigerians will also witness alignment
and re-alignment of forces towards 2015 as the two dominant parties, the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressive Alliance (APC),
intensify efforts to get the backing of Nigerians. The party primaries to
select flag bearers for the general election of next year is also a fertile
ground for infighting among all the political parties in the country. The
much-vaunted internal democracies of the parties will be stretched to the
limits as the primaries for all elective offices provide opportunity for
defections in all directions.
Tight Budget in 2014
The Minister of Finance and the Co-ordinating Minister for
the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told Nigerians to expect a fairly tight
budget for the country this year. During a breakfast dialogue with the Nigeria
Economic Summit Group, NESG, in which she assessed the performance of the
economy for 2013, Okonjo-Iweala prepared the minds of the business leaders in
particular and Nigerians in general, on what to expect.
The minister, who represented President Jonathan at separate
sittings of the Senate and the House of Representatives, said the government
proposes to spend N4.6 trillion in 2014. Of that figure, N3.7 trillion will
cover recurrent expenditure while only N1.1 trillion is earmarked for
developmental or capital projects.
The three key figures represent a reduction from the past
two years. For 2013, total spending stood at N4.9 trillion, while the
government said it had succeeded lowering recurrent spending from 71.47 per
cent in 2012 to 68.7 per cent in 2013.
Capital expenditure also rose from 28.53 per cent in 2012 to
31.3 per cent in 2013.
However, she added: “The budget is going to support the push
in agriculture, it will kick-start the housing sector where we can create more
jobs; it is designed to our policies that would support manufacturing because
jobs would be created there.
“Industries will also be created in solid minerals. All
these support will continue to be unleashed. Job creation is the key to really
solving the problems of the Nigerian economy.” That is some ray of hope despite
budget’s tightness!
Better Road Infrastructure
With N98 billion injected into the construction of seven
major highways and flyovers in Kano State alone this year, the federal
government has assured Nigerians to expect a
better year in 2014 in terms of motorable roads. Minister of State for
Works, Ambassador Bashir Yuguda said although based on the ministry’s budget
envelope, they were not able to achieve 100 per cent of their target for the
outgoing year, funding from SURE-P helped in delivering on the projections. He
has therefore promised better road network across the country this year.
Rice Exportation
If it concerns food sufficiency, Nigerians will be delighted
because it is often said that a hungry person is also angry. And no one can
predict the actions of an angry person. The acting Director-General of the
National Agricultural Seeds Council, Olusegun Olatokun, said late last year
that Nigeria had the capacity to begin rice exportation this year.
Olatokun said with the federal government’s plan to ban rice
importation this year, the country had no choice but to take advantage of its
potential in rice production in furtherance of the Agricultural Transformation
Agenda. Nigerians will be waiting on government to meet this expectation this
year since Olatokun had promised: “Give us 2014, you will see Nigeria exporting
rice. It is a good thing that they should ban it, if they don’t, the
competition that will come may discourage the rice producers.”
New Naira Notes
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has said that Nigerians
should expect a new generation of naira notes before the second quarter of
2014. Deputy Governor, Operations, Mr. Tunde Lemo said the apex bank had
earlier announced its decision to move the local currency from polymer back to
paper, but disclosed that all the notes in circulation would not be withdrawn
at the same time.
According to Lemo, the life cycle of a note in Nigeria is
between six months and a year and if CBN took that decision six months ago, “I
reckon that in the next three to six months, you will begin to see these
denominations re-appear in paper.” The CBN governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido
Sanusi, is also expected to complete a glorious tenure this May.
Heated Competition Online
Looking back at the retail and technology trends that shaped
2013 can help us envisage what retailers can expect for 2014. Increased
competition from online retailers and the lack of traction for mobile wallets
show we're still in the early stages of digital and merchant convergence. The
industry will continue to evolve in 2014 as mobile commerce continues to grow
and retailers put more focus on creating targeted, personalised and seamless
shopping experience for consumers.
Experts believe that part of the prominent feature of 2014
mobile marketing would be the drive for mto deliver the best consumer
experience. Consumers would shift loyalty to merchants that focus on delivering
the most engaging, rich and useful customer experience. If retailers want to
stay competitive, they will need to focus on making it as easy as possible for
customers to find - and pay for - exactly what they want.
Insurgency Going Down?
Nigerians expect that the Boko Haram insurgency should go
down this year. Many analysts have posited that besides the Nigerian civil war,
no event in the country’s history has claimed more lives than the activities of
the sect, which have mowed down both civilians and military personnel in cold
blood especially in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States. However, it is a mixed bag
of hope and trepidation as Nigerians begin the New Year due to the fact that
some political jobbers may form unholy alliance with the sect towards the
crucial 2015 election.
What has given Nigerians hope of the reduction of the
destructive activities of the sect is the assurance of foreign countries,
especially Britain and the United States to assist the country. In the closing
days of last year, the sect appeared to have raised the tempo of its attacks
but the Joint Military Taskforce have been meeting them fire for fire. The
festive period was also almost entirely devoid of their nefarious activities,
therefore, hope is alive that they will be extinguished this year.
Brazil Football World Cup Finals
If there is anything that unifies Nigeria, it is sports,
especially football. Whenever the country is participating in any competition,
Nigerians usually rise as one country to support the team. Nigerians’
passionate love for football is legendary and the patriotic zeal with which
they support the national teams is infectious. Despite the economic downturn,
most Nigerians are looking forward to the world’s most followed sport,
football’s showpiece in various cities of Brazil in 2014.
Nigeria and Argentina are drawn in Group F of the
competition, as they were in Korea/Japan 2002 and South Africa 2010. The two
perennial rivals are drawn alongside newcomers, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iran.
Nigeria, the first African team to qualify for the finals of the global soccer
showpiece in Brazil, will play their opening match against Iran in Curitiba on
June 16 before taking on the newcomers, Herzegovina in the second match and
Argentiana in the final group match. As usual, this is an event Nigerians look
forward to with flourish in 2014.
2014 African Nations Championship
Even before the World Cup Finals, another soccer event of
2014 is the African Nations Championship (CHAN) in South Africa, which normally
features players in the local leagues of the various countries on the
continent. The CHAN event is Nigeria’s starters in the crowded football events
of this year and the country is hoisting its flag at the competition for the
first time since it began next week in South Africa.
U-17 Women FIFA World Cup in Costa Rica
Another football competition involves Nigeria’s U-17 women’s
football team, the Flamengoes, which have been drawn in group D for the 2014
FIFA World Cup in Costa Rica. The Flamengoes will play Colombia in their
opening game, go against China in the second encounter and tackle Mexico in the
final group game. The U-17 Women’s national team qualified for the world cup
finals following the withdrawal of South Sudan. Nigeria’s women football squad
is the dominant team in Africa and Nigerians follow them in all age grade
competitions.
