buffnaija's blog

Another issue of utmost importance which the obasanjo administration has failed to tackle , is the one of insecurity. Everyday in the daily newspapers we are besieged by reports of Armed robbers attacking banks and businesses. Every major city is having to deal with this menace. And judging by increasing number of dead police officers , the police seem to be outgunned . The Federal Government should immediately take steps to reequip with not only the latest weaponry but also the latest in body armour and bullet proof helmets .

to be continued

femi o

One of the reasons for high cost of housing is the fact that Nigeria imports most of its building material, despite the fact that huge building raw material deposits exist in the country. The government should encourage local cement companies to partner with foreign companies to establish cement plants in the country so that we can become self sufficient in cement production , This will have the effect of reducing the cost of cement and subsequently the cost of housing considerably. The next step the Government should take is to engage in massive housing construction. New ultramodern public housing estates should be built to cater for the poor . These housing estates should be equipped with centralized sewer and water purification systems and modern power systems.

Another critical problem, which the Obasanjo government has done little to address, is the problem of inadequate housing. Analysts estimate that close to 60 percent of the population live in substandard housing, without access to clean drinking running water and sewage systems. Little wonder why many have died as a result of cholera and dysentery outbreaks.

All one has to do is take a drive through many of our so called cities and one begins to develop a sense of despair at the atrocious housing conditions in existence. Meanwhile in the rich neighborhoods, new ultra modern housing estates spring up monthly.

The Obasanjo government initially did very little in correcting the situation but has now aggressively moved to restore and build power producing capacity. With several gas fired power plants being built around the country and with power generation expected to hit 10,000 mw by the end of the year, one can say a lot has been accomplished. But still this is not enough and one needs to question why it took so long for the Government to address a problem so critical. With Countries like South Africa with a population of only 40 million generating close to 40,000 mw. It is imperative for more power plants to be built in order for Nigeria to reach its true industrial and economic potential. Only recently I read in an article that Nigeria was only utilizing 17 percent of its hydroelectric power capability. And that there was potential to produce at least 12000 mw more from hydroelectric sources. By all means the federal government should move to aggressively construct dams, we should draft in the Chinese - a country with more dams than any other - to help us rapidly build these dams. Efforts should also be put in place to allow for full exploitation of coal reserves. Coal power plants construction should also be given priority in order to rapidly increase power production. These steps are absolutely essential if Nigeria wants to rapidly industrialize and improve living conditions for its citizens.

As the elections of 2007 draw closer , and as obasanjo prepares to hand over power to a new democratic government . I think its only fitting that we evaluate what has been our longest serving democractic government so far.
In this piece,We will look at what has been done to improve the living conditions of the average nigerian and what more needs to be done to improve living conditions.
On assumption of office.One of the major problems facing obasanjos government was a moribound power sector that was on the verge of collapse. Following years and years of despotic , corrupt military rule with very little in investmentinto the power sector , the power sector was quite literally broken.