Unlike in the years of yore when there was a plethora of prophesies at the outset of a new year, there seems to be a dearth of prophesies about 2012. Sulaimon Olanrewaju reports.GIVEN the growing spate of terror attacks by the Islamist Boko Haram sect, the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the labour union's success in staging a nationwide strike over the sudden removal of fuel subsidy from January 1st 2012, this new year appears to be the most critical yet in the annals of our young democracy.However, unlike in the previous years when prophets traditionally made predictions or revelations about future national events, there has been uncharacteristic silence this time. The prophetic voice of the church has been mute concerning the events of 2012; not that it matters much, but to most observers , it was often a comic relief of sorts to hear from our ''prophetic pastors'' at this time of the year, most of who are nothing but doomsday predictors.However, Rev. Chris Okotie who is an active player on the political turf, having contested the presidency on three occasions on the platform of his party, Fresh Democratic Party, is a different kind of seer whose pronouncement or, if you like, prophetic words are informed by analysis of socio-political and economic realities of our situations, in addition to spiritual discernment of issues.Shortly after the general election in 2011, he told the media: '' if there is going to be liberty and peace in this nation, there are fundamental issues that must be addressed.' Almost a year down the line, it is becoming as clear as crystal that the statement holds true today as it was then. Even Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) of the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, who clearly is a leading politician from the core north today, said in his angry response to the Supreme Court judgement that upheld the election of President Gooddluck Jonathan that there were fundamental issues to be addressed if the nation is to move forward. Many top politicians and public affairs commentators have bought into this line of thought because of the reality of the situation we now face. Buhari charged the president, in conjunction with our lawmakers to reduce their own fat salaries and allowances, cut the pay cheques of civil servants, stop estacodes for six months, ban unnecessary foreign trips, and channel monies gained from these to revamp the economy and rebuild collapsed infrastructure. He added that a frank reassessment of our federal structure needed to be done. Indeed, these are the fundamentals Okotie saw some years ago, which opposition leaders like Buhari now say we ought to deal with, to engender good governance and peace in the country, if we must avert looming danger in 2012, especially as the removal of fuel subsidy becomes an inevitable reality. Okotie's 2011 campaign theme was ''paradigm shift''. A complete shift from the way things are done in Nigeria, especially at the level of federal leadership. But the shift he is talking about is not the kind of tokenism we are currently experiencing. Nigeria needs a new mindset, a new attitude, a new energy, a new focus, a new structure that disables corruption, that focuses on producing not sharing the depleting national cake''. Absolutely. Even by President Jonathan's admission, our oil reserve is estimated to last just 35 years, which is very short in the life of a nation of 167 million. And for a population that may double in 25 years, the scenario is as scary as it comes.Perhaps, speaking now as a political prophet, Okotie says the tough choices of 2012 must include the convocation of a sovereign national conference, how to make the private sector the engine of economic growth, and a realistic solution to the teeming employment that breeds recruits for the likes of Boko Haram and others with similar criminal tendencies.While he supports wage cut for top civil servants, the law makers and others in that privileged bracket, Okotie feels those in the lower rung, ''the masses should be spared. In any case, we cannot be talking of wage cut for workers when the dust over the 18,000 naira minimum wage is yet to settle'', he argues. Wage cut should extend to the banks and other sectors where workers at the top are overpaid. However, the most innovative suggestion of the pastor-politician is his call for an 'economic emergency' to be declared by the president for 12 months, during which extraordinary short term measures that could impact the economy in an instantaneous manner, could be carried out. He opines that the rich do not pay tax in Nigeria due to our lax taxation system. Also, those outside the organised economy hardly pay income tax. This is a major source of unearned revenue we have to look into in 2012. Perhaps, the Federal Inland Revenue Service should urgently set up a rigorous income tax collection regime, to get every working Nigerian in both the formal and informal sector, into the PAYE network, substantial revenue is lost each year to tax evasion, aided and abetted by lack of transparency in the auditing of corporate accounts, including those of government agencies.Several strategic agencies of the Federal Government do not have updated audited accounts. Our upstream oil sector is riddled with corruption. There is no transparency in our oil export system. The double speak of the government cannot be reconciled with its declared commitment to combat corruption. For instance, we are told by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture that only 11 per cent of fertilizers imported into the country by the previous government got to the end users, the farmers. Corrupt officials either re-exported the 89 per cent or never even imported at all. Yet, nothing has been done to get the culprits to account for this massive fraud which has been going on over the years.The Minister of Finance, Dr (Mrs) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who also coordinates the economy, revealed recently that government saved about one billion naira from police wages, which hitherto was paid to ghost workers. Year in year out, a wage bill of N1.5 billion was paid when only N500 million was actually needed. Nothing has been done to apprehend the culprits who are still operating in the comfort of their offices in the police department. The government has not demonstrated enough capacity to prosecute corrupt elements in government like the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo did, regardless of his alleged excesses. We can forgive a man who makes mistakes by acting in error, not the man who does not act at all. Certainly like Rev. Okotie and others have said, 2012 is a defining year for the country.
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