16/03/2024
'The Best Time to Start was Yesterday, The Next Best Time is Now' - R. A. Lafferty
We have dwelt so much on our faulty foundation by the Colonial Britain for her administrative convenience. It is about time we start. If we were not created well, we can recreate ourselves. In a local Dutch adage, 'God created the world but man made Holland'
Arithmetic begins with ONE and English alphabet A. It will make less sense if you start counting from NINE or X. Nigeria cannot make any meaningful progress without having a correct National Database. Nigeria is stagnated at the pre-logical stage of human existence when the globe is shifting from ICT to AI Revolution. Our experts and professionals have ignored the basic foundation of Nationhood to join the rest of the world in ICT, Apps and AI Revolution. They are leaving ONE behind to count NINE. They jumped A to land on X. After talking World Bank, IMF, Bretton Woods, AFDB, G20, UN, AU, Ecowas etc, they must come back to the starting line to create the enabling environment where those MACRO Economics Theories can be applied to create value and make impact.
Our Fiscal Policy and National Planning, Security, Unemployment and Underemployment, Tax System, Literacy Rate, Health Policy and Mortality Rate, Corruption Index, Equitable Allocation/Distribution of Resources and Poverty Alleviation Policy Initiatives will remain GUESSWORK until we start addressing the following questions:
○ Who is a Nigerian?
○ When and Where was he/she born
○ Where does he live (Address History)?
○ What does he/she do for a living?
○ What can he/she do (Knowledge & Skills)?
○ What does he/she have (Assets)?
○ When did he/she died (Birth and Death Records)?
Nigeria have not started until we have the above database (verifiable) which can be aggregated for National planning and development purposes. The country is wallowing in self deceit with her NIN, BVN, NHIS and other tailored to fail data driven initiatives. This could be achieved with the Local Government Areas working with the Police and other security agencies to add a Name, known family history and other personal information, biometric data, verifiable residential and business address, occupation, list of Assets and Liabilities and other critical information to the face of every citizen and resident. We cannot continue to pretend as if we are moving when we are still behind the starting line.
The above records shall be transferred from the Local Government and Police to the State and ultimately National Database. There should be a law that all Birth and Death must be registered at the Local Government within 72 hours. The start and completion of this exercise will cut crime rate by more than half, curb insecurity and cross border infiltration, checkmate against people with criminal records having access to public office or applying to join our security agencies, checkmate public officers from corrupt practices and criminal acquisition, ease payment of taxes, ensure that poverty alleviation initiatives gets to the right people, address social challenges and protect the country. It will eliminate the reoccurring huge cost of the highly manipulated census figures .
If we want to have a country, the Local Government must be strengthened and empowered to work with the security agencies to start compiling the database of citizens and residents within her locality. There is no better time to start than NOW.
Ctz. Ukoha Njoku Ukoha
Omeifuku writes from the Red Chamber (waiting to collect his own N500 Million)
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