Fund the north, create jobs for the youth, reform the police, create the national ombudsman's office, convene a sovereign national conference.
1. Fund the North: The New Nigeria Development Corporation has replaced the Northern Nigeria Development Corporation that was established in 1956 and taken over by northern state governments in 1966.
The old body served as a holding company to promote investment and trade. The new corporation could be revamped and supported with commercial and state finance, operating under full market disclosure and with a technocratic executive board.
The World Bank's private-sector affiliate, the International Finance Corporation, could serve as an effective model.
2. Create jobs for the youth: The National Youth Service Corps is an excellent initiative to get Nigerian students to live in different regions and to promote a stronger national identity.
Today, there is a pressing need to ensure that graduates find sustainable jobs. That argues for linking the ideals of the youth corps project with the economic imperative of job creation.
As youth corpsmembers take up internships in staterun and commercial institutions, the government could provide incentives to employers willing to offer training and permanent employment.
3. Reform the Police: Seen as oppressive and predatory, the 300,000- strong police force commands low levels of public confidence. Armed attacks on police stations and officers contribute to rocketing absenteeism.
A complex bill to reform the force is stuck in the National Assembly.
4. Create the National Ombudsman's Office: An effective ombudsman's office could address citizens' complaints about public servces and the failure to investigate corruption. It would have the power to investigate abuses by the security forces and to seek speedy redress for victims.
5. Convene a sovereign national conference: The looming centenary in 2014 of Nigeria's enforced incorporation as a national entity provides a focus for a participatory review of the structures of government and revenue allocation.
It is the toughest of topics, but an open debate on the issues and options would be the best response to the increasingly shrill calls for secession, compulsory or voluntary.
These calls come from extreme rejectionists in the north, but also from rich southerners who see no value in union with their poorer northern compatriots.
This article was first published in the November edition of The Africa Report, on sale at newsstands,
via our print subscription or our digital edition.
1. Fund the North: The New Nigeria Development Corporation has replaced the Northern Nigeria Development Corporation that was established in 1956 and taken over by northern state governments in 1966.
The old body served as a holding company to promote investment and trade. The new corporation could be revamped and supported with commercial and state finance, operating under full market disclosure and with a technocratic executive board.
The World Bank's private-sector affiliate, the International Finance Corporation, could serve as an effective model.
2. Create jobs for the youth: The National Youth Service Corps is an excellent initiative to get Nigerian students to live in different regions and to promote a stronger national identity.
Today, there is a pressing need to ensure that graduates find sustainable jobs. That argues for linking the ideals of the youth corps project with the economic imperative of job creation.
As youth corpsmembers take up internships in staterun and commercial institutions, the government could provide incentives to employers willing to offer training and permanent employment.
3. Reform the Police: Seen as oppressive and predatory, the 300,000- strong police force commands low levels of public confidence. Armed attacks on police stations and officers contribute to rocketing absenteeism.
A complex bill to reform the force is stuck in the National Assembly.
4. Create the National Ombudsman's Office: An effective ombudsman's office could address citizens' complaints about public servces and the failure to investigate corruption. It would have the power to investigate abuses by the security forces and to seek speedy redress for victims.
5. Convene a sovereign national conference: The looming centenary in 2014 of Nigeria's enforced incorporation as a national entity provides a focus for a participatory review of the structures of government and revenue allocation.
It is the toughest of topics, but an open debate on the issues and options would be the best response to the increasingly shrill calls for secession, compulsory or voluntary.
These calls come from extreme rejectionists in the north, but also from rich southerners who see no value in union with their poorer northern compatriots.
This article was first published in the November edition of The Africa Report, on sale at newsstands,
via our print subscription or our digital edition.
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