The need for change in policy, process and public outlook especially in governance has continued to be the cry for Nigerians in the last 20 years.
Over the period, Nigeria has been stymied by ineffective leadership throwing up jaundiced policies with its twin; ineffective implementation now leading to the wrestling down of not only the economy but the socio-political fabric of the Nation.
Sadly, we have been looking for change in the wrong places.
Seeking change through the political process has continued to lead Nigerians from one mistep to another leading to the overiding damage to our national fabric and a loss of confidence in our structures and ethos.
In the pursuit of sustainable change, we have fallen victim of one sterile leadership after the other.
In our thirst, we listen to vacous promises on leprose soap boxes, put our faith on the tombstone of sweettongued politicians and ended up being used and tossed away like dishevelled tissue paper
Election cycle after the other, the same morbid rotation continues with Nigerians now seemingly turning hopeless and helpless with their lot.
It is now even worse as democratic institutions no longer have the strength to protect or reorder things, as they are now helplessly part of the problem.
But one exciting thing that most of us have not noticed is that there are other ways with which we can achieve this change
One, is what I want to call the outsider insider way.
This is engendering change outside of the political process and from there forcing change within the political process as a result of scale and influence
This was first noticed in the entertainment sector, which tore itself away from Government funding and its inefficiencies and built for itself an independent structure that came with self regulation, funding, quality control, seeking new and effective form of distribution and pronto we found oursleves far removed from the Government sponsored TV movies and sitcoms with its poor pay structure and low output to an industry valued in trillions and also an industry with one of the largest conclave of Nigerians under employment.
As a result of its size, it has now garnered such influence that it now affects Government Policy, human capital decsions in allied government regulatory agencies and generally just driving the sector with government playing catch up.
This seems to be what is about to play out with the sudden emergence of the Dangote Refinery.
Government has spent about the same amount it has taken Dangote Group to deliver the Refinery to carry out a TAM and over almost triple the time frame it has taken Dangote Refinery to come on stream all with no success.
Today, Government has moved from not only regulatory functions to attempt to play an agency role in an industry it is supposed to be regulating.
With Dangote Refinery and its size, you can begin to see the movements in the sector, the reordering of things like distribution, quality control, prizing, currency shifts, all with Government not really having a superior hand in the discussions.
The huge international cartel – OPEC has even been reported to have said that the Dangote Refinery and one other one in Mexico will be a game changer for global energy.
In Nigeria, already the size has forced Government to start selling its crude in local currencies leading the way for it to consider same in other strategic Parastatals like NIMASA and NPA
The outside-inside policy movement has begun to take shape in the oil industry in Nigeria end-to-end.
By this, I mean from exploration to downstream, we are beginning to witness a shake up and a reodering- something a series of Government reforms from the Obasanjo administration to the present one have not been able to achieve.
Government in my estimation is at its last breath of control.
The Dangote Refinery and its throw put effect on the sector has thrown up a tsunamic type effect on the sector that would inevitably push Government back to its designed role – regulation and the provision of a safe and conducive operating environment instead of what its doing owning filling stations all over the place and just being a player rather than an unbiased regulator.
Government if they are to retain any modicum of respect must begin to prepare itself for this next wave and they can do this by reaccessing its role on the industry viz a viz the new paradigm where a private sector led revolution has taken place failure which it would lose massive relavance and control like it has done in the Entertainment Industry and to a far extent in infrastructure and may be Real Estate.
This in my estimation perfectly illustrates the position, that we may arms length the political process at this point, while still engaging it offhandly especially in seeking approvals and the like while engendering change in other areas and now use the scale and influence garnered to push real political change in governance
With size and scale, we can impact, government policy, we can cut the apron strings with which businesses are tied to Govt support, impact personel movement, block leakages, drive technology and ensure a perfect tie bw private and public sector and finally effectively put the country back on a sure footed road to national fulfilment
This is what the Dangote revolution has taught me.
Thanks.
- Joseph Edgar has a Masters Degree in Political science with speacility in Political economy from the University of Lagos and he is a qualified Stock broker who has traded on the floor of the then Lagos Stock Exchange
