Agriculture On My Mind

A note to Whom Will Be or Will Remain President and Governors in 2011:

Here is what I will do on AGRICULTURE...

I will use it to create millions of jobs - permanent and high quality jobs. I will use it to anchor the health of Nigerians. I will use it to guarantee food security in the whole of West Africa. I will use it to revive, sustain and transform Nigeria's industrial revolution. I will use it to earn foreign exchange big time. I will use it to displace oil & gas as the mainstay of the Nigerian economy.

Here is how I will PROCEED...

I will create rural infrastructure and power supply - to retain and attract quality manpower upcountry and in the wetlands. I will produce local fertilizers - organic and inorganic. I will bring in equipment manufacturers cum assembly plants and fund local fabricators. I will create millennium farm settlements and marketing boards. I will deploy 60% of NYSC members to the Agricultural Sector every year. I will equip, fund and deploy the armed forces to unity farms; and Army Engineers to help construct rural infrastructure and housing. I will fund and utilize R&D. I will join the CBN in providing long term and accessible credit to all genuine farmers and agribusinesses. I will bring in Chinese, Israeli, Indian, Thai, Malaysian and Brazilian experts and investors to counterpart our own well-resourced operators. I will gun for 80% homeland utilization of all our produce within 5 years. Finally, I will protect Nigerian AGRICULTURE, whatever it takes!

Who will be president? Will you do this for us, please?

Who will be governors? Can you folks rise up to the plate, please?

The twist in all this is how long these low-hanging fruits have been begging to be plucked!

We wait and watch.

Building & Construction In Nigeria: Create New Firms

PART I.......(HOUSING)

Now that the nation has seen the emptiness and hypocrisy of the past, it is time to take our destiny in our hands, anew!

There are too few players in Nigeria's construction business. And it is still very lacking in local content and indigenous investment. Over the years, corruption has kept our own people from winning major contracts from our own governments! As is being reported from Europe and the United States, many multinationals simply bribe their way to sumptuous and salacious contracts in the third world, including Nigeria. In the bidding, if there was bidding, no local entrepreneur stood a chance in heaven or hell! In several cases, the foreigners procure "local" businessmen and politicians as puppets - to beat indigenisation policies or affirmative action.

No transfer of technology or know-how ever takes place, and no reinvestment either - profits are repatriated, over-invoicing be state-of-da-play, and the multinational simply smile to their bank in an orgy of obscene capital flight!!!

For decades now, Nigeria has been a dishonourable showcase and unpatriotic case-study in this regard. The advent of democratic governance held so much promise for change. But, alas, our politicians at all levels out-competed themselves in furthering the shameful practice, and often introduced mind-boggling varieties that have baffled our development partners, friends and anti-graft agencies!!!

The RESULT? Collapse of national infrastructure. Collapse of local contractors. Loss of pride. Unemployment. Upsurge in crimes. Social and Economic Discontent. Decline in national capacity. High import dependency. Inflation. Sick national currency. More corruption. Etc. Etc.

A NEW BEGINNING
I believe in borrowing and buying for abroad. We are in a global village. And it is impossible for Nigeria to develop otherwise. So, here is how we may proceed...

a) To tackle our HOUSING challenges, create 109 Burnt Bricks Firms/Factories - one per senatorial district - that will make us proudly use local materials
b) To provide all our wood-products/materials create 3 Mega Sawmills per LGA at raw material sources nationwide, plus 12 Furniture & Fittings Firms/Factories per state
c) Encourage states to invest in cement production, especially in the raw material zones
d) Create 1 Mega Paints Manufacturer per state
e) Create 1 Mega Nails & Binders Manufacturer per geo-political zone
f) Create 1 Mega Roofing Materials Firm/Factory per geo-political zone
g) Create 1 Mega Electrical Materials Firm/Factory per geo-political zone
h) Create 1 Mega Plumbing Materials & Pipes Manufacturer per geo-political zone
i) For marbles, stones, sand, granite, etc., each state should license quarries and micro-miners
j) Establish 12 Integrated Full-range Solar Energy Manufacturing Firms/Factories
k) Create 12 Mega Home Appliances & Office Equipment Manufacturers nationwide
l) Each Zone should establish a World Class Joint Venture for Full-range Construction/Building Equipment Assembly/Manufacture (6 nationwide)

To operationalise all these, international joint ventures with local majority stakes and foreign technical partners/investors is the way - especially from Asia and South America. Successful Family Businesses from Europe and North America should also be attracted. Only "born-again" multinationals should be considered!!!

FUNDING DA DEAL!
Our 25 (so far) consolidated banks should return every 3 years to the capital market for cheap equity cash. Right now, we should design a unique matrix of syndicated loans and MSME JVs, including new and specific incentives, to fund the deals.

The federal government will, on behalf of Nigeria, invest US$10bn in a special trust fund to drive the portfolio.

State governments will, on behalf of their people, invest between Naira 10-20bn in special mortgage trusts to drive the housing agenda.

If well done, I suggest that in just 10 Years we will be exporting housing, expertise, products and prosperity to our African Brethren!