There is one word I love so much. ECONOMY.A lot of people use that word… and if you want to feel smart, then you should use it sometimes.
But what really is economy?
Economy is another word for “collective wealth Management”. Wealth is riches – not necessarily money.
My wealth is individual; your wealth is individual. When we join them together, they become “collective wealth”.
So the economy of a country e.g. Nigeria is how the government (and citizens) manage their collective wealth.
When a government improves the economy, he…
Increases and shares the nation’s riches in a way that (at least almost) everybody is comfortable.
And what of…
POVERTY?
It is when you can’t afford the basic things in life.
You can’t eat 3 times a day; you can’t transport yourself; you can’t buy what your mates are buying; you can’t be comfortable; you’re broke. That’s poverty.
To get out of poverty, you need to either…
1. Get a well-paying job or
2. Own a profitable business
Another way out is to depend on somebody else – bad advice.
In this Video, You'll discover...
The formula for National Prosperity
But where do jobs come from?
From business and government establishment. Everybody can’t work in government. No space. Even if space magically came out for everybody, it will still not work: the economy will die – that’s what economists say.
To get job for everybody, new and expanding businesses is the answer.
Accountants. Lawyers. Engineers. Factory workers. Managers. Cleaners. Scientists. Businesses need them to stay alive.
But what is the use of all these professions and skills when every living business already have all they need?
That’s why graduates are jobless. The ones with Jobs get peanuts – some o, not all. It’s even worse when you’re half baked.
No wonder as of 2011, 22 million Nigerian youths had no job.
But what is the way out?
More new (or expanding) businesses = more job vacancy.
But most new Nigerian businesses die before their 5th birthday. They don’t make profit. They just try to survive. So they never grow big enough to employ others.
Why? Because doing business in Nigeria is hard and expensive. That’s why even big companies with a lot of money run to other countries.
And how can the government solve this problem? Simple! Just make business in Nigeria…
- Cheaper
- Faster (time na money)
- Easier and
- More profitable
Here are 9 ways President Jonathan has been doing it…
1. He Started With A Plan
Nobody can solve a big problem without understanding… and WITHOUT a plan – and President Jonathan knows that.
That’s why he (and his team) started by finding out the situation of things…
He re-based the economy
But what really is “re-basing?” Let me explain with a story.
Mrs. Okafor is a big business woman in aba. She has a very big factory. Her factory makes a lot of things: soaps, detergents, disinfectants etc.
Almost every year, her factory adds new products.
But here is the problem… she has lost count of the number of things her factory makes – they’re just too much.
10 years ago, she hired a personal accountant, Mr. Musa. His job is to…
1. Calculate every year-end, how much the factor makes and…
2. Count and record every 5 (or 6… or 7 years) all the goods the factory
produces. Plus calculate what percent each good adds to the company’s
profit.
Re-basing is Job #2. Here, Mr. Musa re-based Mrs. Ngozi’s Factory.
And why is this important? With re-basing, Mrs. Ngozi will know the goods to spend more time, energy and money on – which one brings the most profit.
After re-basing, President Jonathan (and his team) started planning. The plan is to industrialize Nigeria.
So in 2013, they came out with NIPR (aka. National Industrial Revolution Plan).
In 2014, they documented it (in a .pdf format) and brought it to the public.
You can download your copy here.
In that document, they plan to build giant industries in Nigeria before 2017.
America and Europe banished poverty from their land by building giant industries.
Giant industries = MILLIONS of quality Jobs.
Some of these plans have already started bringing their head from under the water.
Some popular examples are…
The “National Automobile Industry Development Plan”
Maybe you’ve heard – maybe you’ve not: many giant car companies are now building car producing factories in Nigeria. Some of them are…
- Nissan Motors
- Hyundai Motors
- Innoson Motors (the first made-in-Nigeria-by-a-Nigerian car company)
- And many more
How will this help fight poverty?
It will…
Help create and develop other industries and businesses – who will in turn, employ others.
A car has over 2,000 parts. Car building companies don’t usually produce these parts. They contract other companies (usually small and medium sized) to make them.
The car industry also needs steel, iron, glass, plastic, rubber etc. to operate.
As a result, they’ll be buying from the local industry (which President Jonathan plans to develop – according to the NIRP document).
The result? More jobs.
It will also…
Help our people (Nigerians) get advanced technology skills.
To make a car, you need advanced technology.
When these companies start producing in Nigeria, they’ll be working with Nigerians. As a result, our people will learn what they (the foreign experts) know – Nigeria will become a technologically advanced country through this.
Also…
More Nigerians will now afford brand new cars (aka. Tear Rubber) – the price will come down a lot.
Another popular one is the…
Local Content Act
In 2010, President Jonathan signed the Local Content Act.
It’s a law designed to make more Nigerians get more quality jobs in oil companies.
As a result, many Nigerian companies are already getting juicy contracts from oil companies. For example…
NigerDockNig. PLC got an off shore platform contract from Exxon Mobile.
S.C.C Limited, a Nigerian company, got a contract of N7.8 billion ($49.9 million) from Royal Dutch Shell for the manufacture of high pressure line pipes – which before that law was usually awarded to foreign companies.
The result? These companies will employ more Nigerians to do the job.
In 2015, the mining industry will be another next big one.
Sources:
FMTI - Jonathan launches Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan, NEDEP
Premium Times - 30 vehicle manufacturing plants set to open in Nigeria
CNBC Africa - Nissan makes first made-in-Nigeria car
The Sun - Innoson rolls out 500 made in Nigeria cars today
Nigerian Tribune - Are these cars really made in Nigeria?
Vanguard - From Spare Parts Trader to Motor Giant: The story of Innoson
Vanguard - 6 foreign firms, Dangote to begin mining gold, iron ore in 2015
2. Shouting “UP NEPA” Will Soon Be History
“President Jonathan’s effort to make power (aka. NEPA
light) constant is where most Nigerians are already beginning
to see results. I now sleep with NEPA light almost every night”
- Anthony Obuegbe, Blogger
95% of Nigerian businesses (or more) depend on electricity (aka. Power). Some depend heavily on it; others can survive without it.
NEPA light is usually not dependable. So most businesses depend on their noisy, smoky, fuel consuming and easily spoilt generators.
But since President Jonathan intervened, NEPA light has seen great improvement.
How did he do it?
When he came in, he studied what past governments has done.
These governments have pumped in billions; yet, no visible result. No matter how much they pumped in, corruption and i-don’t-care attitude swallowed it.
So in 2013, he took NEPA (aka. Power holdings) from public officers and gave (sold) it to private companies.
Why?
If NEPA is owned by a private business, they’ll take it seriously – no man plays with his business.
He divided NEPA into 17 companies…
- 6 generation companies (GENCOs)
- 11 distribution companies (DISCOs)
…and sold it to different owners.
Then he went as far as setting up a commission, NERC (aka. Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission), to protect both the consumer (Nigerians) and the companies.
Now, his major focus is increasing megawatt (Aka. The size of electric power).
Why?
So that megawatt will get so abundant that there will be no need for NEPA light to go off – and that’s why power has been improving.
The result?
Ekene (my guy) owns a small cybercafé with only 3 computers in Lagos (one server; two clients).
He does other services like typing and printing, scanning and sending, lamination etc. Every week, he spends N9,000 on fuel (filling his 30 liter keg cost N3,000 – he buys fuel 3x a week).
In a month, he spends almost N40,000 on fuel.
But since power started improving, his story has changed. As of late December last year (2014), he was still using the fuel he bought in November.
When NEPA light finally becomes constant, he will be saving N40,000 every month. Now imagine what he can do with extra N40,000.
He can…
- Improve his business
- Make his service cheaper and
- Improve his life
And he’s just one business. Now think about the thousands of similar businesses across Nigeria. How many people will it affect?
Dangote spends N250 Million daily on diesel – in just one of his cement factory.
And he’s not the only one. There are hundreds (if not thousands) of similar businesses across Nigeria.
Now imagine what will happen to the price of things in the market when power finally becomes constant and reliable.
Sources:
Nigeria Electricity Privatization Project - Background
Channels Tv - Jonathan Hands Over Certificates To PHCN Successor Companies
Reuters - Nigeria hands state power assets to private buyers
New Telegraph - Dangote spends N250m daily on diesel at Ogun cement factory
National Morror - FG targets 12,500mw of electricity by 2017
3. Railways To Make Transport Fast, Stress Free, Comfortable And Cheaper
If you’re a frequent traveler, you may have started noticing the railway lines on the road.
That is President Jonathan’s effort to ease the stress of transportation for the common man – and make business activities smoother.
When it’s finally completed, traffic hold-up will disappear.
A lot of people have lost their job – and important contracts – because of traffic hold up.
Take Lagos state for example, to drive from Amukoko to mile 2 is not supposed to take up to one hour. But most times, it takes more than 4 hours. It’s even worse in some areas.
How did he do it?
When President Jonathan (and his team) came on board, the rail sector was in a sorry state. Every infrastructure decayed. Rail activities almost stopped.
President Jonathan’s strategy has been massive rehabilitation – where possible, he went for low interest loans.
Trains have started running again in some parts of Nigeria.
In December, my cousin’s friend, Michael, traveled from Port Harcourt to Abia via train. He got to Abia within 45minutes. He paid just N150 – under air condition o.
By bus, it usually cost N650 (in December) – and takes – 2hrs (if no hold up o).
Sources:
International Railway Journal - Nigeria backs rail to boost economic growth
This Day Live - KPMG Report: $13bn High Speed Rail to Save Nigeria Road Maintenance Cost
Premium Times - Nigeria secures N80bn loan for Abuja-Kaduna train project
Vanguard - FG, CCECC sign $1.5b Lagos/Ibadan rail project
Wikipedia - Nigerian Railway Corporation
4. Thanks to YouWIN: Idea Rich Nigerians (with no Money) Can Now Own a Big Business
Many Nigerian youths have great business ideas – but no money.
They don’t have collateral to borrow from banks. And when they do, the interest rate is scary.
Some try looking for good jobs – so that they can save. But no job.
So their ideas die with them.
President Jonathan knows this. So in 2011, he brought out a solution – YouWIN.
And how does YouWIN work? Simple!
You submit your business plan. If it’s good, you get between N1 Million – N10 Million grant – you DON’T pay back.
The result?
As of 2014, 44,000 youths have won.
Utibe is a web designer. He won the YouWin Competition. Now, his business has gone to the next level.
And there are over 44,000 young Nigerians that got similar grants. Now think of the impact – how many more Nigerians will these businesses employ?
Sources:
The Sun - Jonathan launches $50m Venture Capital Fund, YouWin Batch 4
[Video] Nairaland – YouWinWithGEJ;testimonies From Few Of The Beneficiaries
After School Africa – How I won in the YouWIN Business Plan Competition – Interview with Utibe Etim
5. The value of Naira (to Dollar) Fell: Yet, Food Price Did Not Increase – It’s not Accident
Recently, oil price in the world fell from $115 (per barrel) to $49 – and oil is Nigeria’s major income source.
To make matters worse, America (our biggest customer) stopped buying from us.
As a result, Naira value (to dollar) fell from N168 (per dollar) to over N200. Yet, it did not affect food price – unlike before.
Why?
Because of the great changes President Jonathan made in the Agric sector.
He...
- Ended 40 year of corruption in fertilizer distribution (within 3 months) – as a result, 10 Million Nigerian farmers now get fertilizers with ease.
- Introduced paddy (dry season) rice which lead to 467,000 new jobs – and 1.1 Million tonnes of extra rice. As a result, these new farmers collectively earned N37 Billion.
- Banned rice importation to help local farmers grow – even the President (and everybody in Aso Rock) eat only made-in-Nigeria rice.
- Increase Nigeria’s rice milling company from 1 to 18.
- Worked with Nigerian based research institutes to crate faster (and higher) producing seedlings
The Result?
Agriculture became the next big thing – it became a big support for the economy.
As of 2011, Nigeria was spending N1.8 Trillion ($11 billion) yearly to import food. By 2014, the number fell to N875 billion ($5.3 Billion). As a result, food price has stopped rising the way it used to.
As if that is not enough, Agriculture is now becoming a big business: even big foreign companies want to take part.
So far, Nigeria has attracted over N1.7 Trillion worth of Investment.
We (Nigeria) are now the world largest producer of Cassava.
Sources:
The Economist – Why the oil price is falling
VOX – Why oil prices keep falling — and throwing the world into turmoil
Daily Independent – National food imports dropped by $5.3b in one year
This Day Live - 2015 Rice Importation Ban: Disregard US Report, FG Urged
National Daily - Saving Nigeria from over-dependence on imported rice
6. His Anti-Corruption Strategy Saved Trillions For Nigeria
Many Nigerians may not know this but President Jonathan has been fighting corruption in a smart way: He has focused on blocking corruption loopholes. Where possible, he used technology.
The result?
He has saved Trillions of Naira for Nigeria. This money is part of what he’s using to build infrastructures.
You can read more here.
Sources:
Explore Anthony Obuegbe’s Mind - 7 Little-Known Ways President Jonathan Fought Corruption
7. “Unemployable” Graduates (and Secondary School Leavers) Will soon be History
Most Nigerian graduates don’t have jobs. They say there is no job.
But Nigerian businesses say there is job – that they can’t find the skills they need.
So it becomes obvious: the problem is not job. The problem is skills. Graduates don’t come out with useful skills.
To make matters worse, most of these universities (and polytechnics… and colleges of educations… and secondary schools… and primary schools) are in shambles.
Decayed structures everywhere.
Laboratories not working. Hostels jampacked and smelly. Class rooms inadequate: imagine more than 300 students taking lectures in a small class room – jampacked like tinned sardine.
Even the things they learn (aka. Curriculum) has nothing to do with today’s realities – imagine a computer science student still talking about COBALT and FORTRAN when the world is talking about HTML5 and PHP.
The fact that most teachers are not properly trained makes matters worse.
As if that is not enough, many Nigerian children (and youths) are dropouts. As of 2011, 10.5Million children were out of school – mainly in the North, South-East and South-South.
To completely solve these problems, president Jonathan completely took the whole responsibilities on himself.
What does that mean?
According to the constitution, the Federal Government is responsible for only university education. The State and Local government is responsible for primary and secondary education.
But if the federal Government continues to wait for the local and state government, the problem may persist.
So how is he solving it?
He started with a plan – the “Four-Year Strategic Plan for Education”.
In that plan, he looked at what past governments did. The ones that were working, he improved. The ones that were not, he changed – or removed.
For example…
The TETFund (A.ka Tertiary Education Trust Fund).
TETFund was born from ETF (Education Trust Fund). ETF wasn’t working. So, he scraped and replaced it with TETFund.
TETFund was born to fight infrastructure decay in Government universities, polytechnics and college of education. It got N615 Billion from 2010 – 2014.
The Result?
New structures are now appearing in most government owned tertiary institutions.
He also improved UBE (for public primary and secondary schools) and review school curriculum to suit today’s realities.
To solve the problem of out-of-school children, he built 125 Almajiri schools, in the North and technical and vocational school, in the South-South and South-East – he also built 16 Girl-Model schools.
Then he trained over 1 Million primary and junior secondary school teachers and administrators.
He also rehabilitated 25 unity colleges. Out of 104, 72 now have electronic library.
Then he partnered with private business to provide 60 Million free text books for less privileged children.
The Result?
School enrollment has increased from 23 Million in 2010 to 29 Million in 2012 – and it’s still growing.
As if that is not enough, he built 12 new universities.
Why?
So that every state can have a federal university.
The best part is that budgetary allocation for education has almost tripled from N224 Billion in 2007 to N634 Billion in 2013.
Sources:
State House - President Jonathan urges NESG to review 45yrs old education policy foundation
Punch - FG unfolds four-year strategic plan for education
This Day Live - Almajiris: Towards Creating Brighter Future for the Street Kids
TETFund - History of TETFund
NewsWatch Times - TETFUND: N480bn released to tertiary institutions
Daily Independent - Public tertiary institutions get TETFund’s N135b to boost infrastructures
Sardauna - Jonathan sad over ‘unaccessed’ N65b in TETFund
8. Low Income Earning Nigerians Now Owning their Own Home
Housing is a basic human need. But in Nigeria, it’s a big problem.
Nigeria needs 17 million new homes – and additional 700,000 every year.
Affordable housing is scarce: if you’ve looked for one, you’ll understand what I mean.
To build – or buy – a new one is also very expensive. The average Nigerian cannot afford it.
To borrow from the bank is even harder. You need collateral. Repayment period is also very short.
To solve this, President Jonathan (and his team) initiated the “Nigeria Housing Finance Project.”
How does it work?
Simple! Just apply online. (New selection currently going on)
If you qualify, you can get between N2 Million to N20 Million and pay within 20 years.
On July 2014, President Jonathan launched the first batch. The target was to finance 10,000 new homes.
Then something happened…
66,402 applied and qualified. Then President Jonathan ordered that every qualified applicant get loan. So 66,402 Nigerians benefited.
Sources:
Leadership - Federal Government Launches 10,000 Mortgages For Affordable Housing Units
National Mirror - FG orders processing of 66,400 mortgage applications
This Day Live - Jonathan Boosts Housing with N50bn Mortgage Refinancing Company
9. Mining To Become The Next Big Thing
Nigerian Mining industry used to be big. It employed millions.
But when Nigeria discovered oil, the government abandoned mining. Years of neglect made the industry die.
When President Jonathan came it, he saw the industry’s potential. So he set out to revive it.
How?
He attracted more technically advanced foreign companies: mining is highly technical – Nigerians with those skills are scarce.
He used favorable policies and diplomacy to achieve this.
The Result?
A lot of big foreign companies are already setting up their machinery in Nigeria. They’ll start mining by 2015 and jobs will follow.
Sources:
Think Africa Press - Nigeria Digs Deep in a Bid to Revive its Mining Sector
Vanguard - 6 foreign firms, Dangote to begin mining gold, iron ore in 2015
Change & Revolution - South Africa To Help Develop Nigeria’s Gold Mining Industry
In Conclusion
To succeed in the 21st Century, work smart; NOT hard – and that’s what President Jonathan has done.
No wonder in Just 4 (… OK 6) years, he has achieved a lot for Nigeria.
But he’s not done yet…
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