RE ASUU PICKS HOLE IN PRIVATIZATION OF NITEL

RE: ASUU PICKS HOLE IN PRIVATIZATION OF NITEL

(Mansfield, OH, United States of America)

I am a Nigerian born to prominent families in Nigeria; I had all my education up to medical doctorate degree in Nigeria and worked as employee of the Federal Ministry of Health and Human Services for many years. I had graduate training in United Kingdom and United States of America. I decided to explain my background firstly to prevent name-callings, which is the style of Nigerian when they are bereft of ideas to argue their point of view. Secondly to let people know that I am a Nigerian of Nigerian, born and bred in Nigeria and a stakeholder in the country. Hence, I am a very patriotic Nigerian.

It is with great disappointment and sense of regret that I read the article on "ASUU pick hole in privatization of NITEL" and other privatization processes in the country.

My disappointment is based on the point that the members of the ASUU are the representatives of the citadel of learning of the Nigerian population and they represent the crème de la crème of the Nigerian educated elites, hence, there is a deep reservoir of talents to educate them about world economics and the problem of Nigeria economy and the impact of the current economic structure on our political stability.

My regret actually was that after perusing the article on the above subject matter in the Vanguard of Tuesday, December 18, 2001. I concluded the following:

1. That Nigeria educated elites lack adequate insight and solution to Nigeria economic and political situation/or

2. They are disingenuous about their perception of the problem and just wanted to criticize for just criticism sake to prove to their uneducated constituent that they are still relevant and on top of issues/or

3. They are totally economically and politically ignorant and need to be educated about the current global economy and the need to be efficient in order to compete globally/or

4. They are the evidence of the decline in the education level and the caliber of the products Nigerian education is producing to the world.

To my dear ASUU members, I have my own disagreement with the present method of privatization for two major reasons, which I expected to be the issues my dear friends at ASSU will be educating the people and the government about instead of their current boner opposition to the act of privatization. These two major reasons are:

1. Lack of viable competitors for the privatized establishment, this singular error has been found from experience all over the world to create more inefficiency and exploitation of the masses. Hence, privatization without competition produces monopoly that enhances the businesspersons’ pursuance of his/her self-interest. "If no competition is possible, then privatization only works when there is government regulation to prevent monopolistic abuses. The government currently is not providing viable competition for the privatized organizations like NIGERDOCK, NITEL and possible NEPA. There is also no transparent adequate regulation to correct monopolistic abuses to allay the fears of the critics. If there is, the public is not well educated about it.

2. The government that is responsible to the people must let the people know what the government is currently losing in the pre-privatization agreement and what they are bound to gain post privatization in both financial and efficiency terms. This should be the modus operandi of democratically elected government who is responsible to the people they serve or "claimed to serve"

Let me go back to the subject matter and I will like my friends at ASUU to know that I respect them and my intention is to educate and not just to criticize without providing solution to how they can best educate themselves to make them provide services as professionals to the greater economy and political stability of the country.

Currently in Nigeria, we have a government monopoly. A government monopoly in a socioeconomic and political climate such as Nigeria will continue to breed, inefficiency, corruption, ethnic/tribal strife, incompetence and nincompoops as managers of government agencies.

At present in Nigeria, public sector management is not results and customer focused. In part this reflects a growing willingness of the Nigerian community, ASUU, their current views and the government to accept the continuation of historic commitments simply because they are historic. But this is totally at odd with the way global economists and managers now think about their jobs and responsibilities. In this environment greater attention is being given to targets, to measurement against them, and to productivity gains, as well as to the continued relevance and value of specific activities and programs

It has been common to think of public sector organization as divorced from competition. Whatever validity this view had in the past, it is certainly not now true.

For the sake of development, efficiency and productivity, virtually all organizations should operate in competitive environments, with potential alternative suppliers of services to their customers/stakeholders. "Competition for a public sector organization should come not just from other government instrumentalities. There should be availability of private sector firms willing and able to take over some or all of its activities, whether as a full function supplier or through outsourcing of specific activities".

"In developed economies public agencies survive largely on their ability to create and deliver value. There are occasional exceptions. Others with greater funds, or as a consequence of some political policy may nonetheless acquire some organizations with a strong record of value creation for their customers. So a sustained record of value creation is not in itself a guarantee of continued independence, but it certainly provides more security than when such a record is absent".

Value creation should not be a chance event in public agency, nor should it be determined only by government decree. It should depend on what potential customers/stakeholders will really value and that the organization is actually able to deliver in a competitive way. Thus it links customer/stakeholder need with the organization’s actual or potential capabilities. After more than forty years of independence and no matter how patriotic our force may be Nigeria public agencies and current culture lack the ability to create value that is customers/stakeholders focused.

Let us look at NEPA as an example of public agency, my ASUU friends believe that privatizing NEPA is very "unpatriotic and the government is selling valuable property built and owned by Nigerian people to European and Americans". This is the funniest and uninspiring words least expected from educated Nigerians. For an organization that is going on strike for about 6 months every year for the past 10 years because of lack of funding for education material, salary and research to make such a comment show that they do not profess any solution to their problems and that may explain why when past and present governments tapped for talents from the university communities, the talents always end up to be a clog in the wheel of the country and the education sector progress.

My friends, government commitment to NEPA and other public agencies that are very visible and important political indices are draining funds from the important less visible sectors such as education and health care. Currently Nigerians pay at least three times for NEPA in its current status. For easy understanding for my friends let me explain how Nigerians pay three times or more for NEPA.

1. Government subvention (Nigerian tax payers money)

2. Direct payment by consumers because when I was in Nigeria, whether you have light or not NEPA always bring their bills and you must pay you can never argue and win with the "almighty NEPA", the only way you can win the argument to reduce your bill is to "settle"

3. For industries that need to produce goods for the masses to function somehow, they need to buy generators, this extra cost is pass unto the consumers, hence, Mr. Inflation and there goes the value of Naira. Although, it is more complicated than this, but I am trying to be laconic with my friends.

4. There is a fourth way Nigerians pay which is difficult to quantify, This includes life and properties lost to fire from candle light, adulterated kerosene used for lantern, poor education and health care sectors, mismanagement of income to government agencies (Nigerian culture).

NEPA and other Nigerian organizations as privatized companies will provide the following impact on Nigerians:

1. Pains and emotion associated with selling of someone’s inefficient and money draining property. This money could be plow into sectors that need it or embezzled. The management of this fund should be what my friends should be spending their energy on and putting the government on it toes to come out and tell the populace how they are going to spend the gains of privatization.

2. The property will be "sold to foreigners" to me this assertion is silly and regrettable that it is coming from our educated elites. This people will bring their money create an efficient organization whose trickle down effect will improve our economy and infrastructure, furthermore create jobs for Nigerians leading to increase in our tax base subsequently our gross domestic product (GDP). This will also create gainfully employed universities alumni that can assist our universities in their present sorry states. I was a student of this school of thought before I traveled out of the country to educate my mind. An example of my silliness and folly in those days was my total opposition to Late Chief Ashamu of blessed memory planned to invest in Ikogosi warm spring in the old Ondo state, now in Ekiti State. As a "patriotic Ondo state indigene" I was against it on the premise that how can a "foreigner" from Oyo state exploit our god giving indigenous property and take the money to Oyo state, stupidly forgetting that the investment will benefit the local population and the state as a whole. My line of argument and politics of the day carried the day and the investment was denied and the community was left in abject poverty till today. My appeal to the government of Nigeria is that every president of ASUU in all the 36 universities should be allowed about 3 months or more training outside the country on global economy and impacts on political stability in the interest of the country. This kind of policy will really make this wonderful and patriotic professional group to have more enlightened perspective of economic and political situation of the country and the world in general.

3. "Only few Nigerians that are well connected are buying it". This will only be problem if there is no viable competition. In a private competitive environment a property bought for millions of dollar could be sold for chicken change if not properly managed. When General Babangida was putting together the staff for his private university, in the name of competition he went for the best brain and not nincompoops that are from one tribe or ethnicity or member of his family. But when he was "president" of Nigeria, the selection was based on ethnic/tribal and close relationship rather than ability to produce. This will be one of the benefits of privatization. You produce value you profit well and you failed to produce valuable and competitive product you go bankrupt. I can go on and on. For the sake of space and time I will like to stop here.

One of the main reasons for political instability in Nigeria is the government inefficient management of public agencies like NEPA, NITEL, NNPC and oil sector, STEEL INDUSTRIES etc. privatization of these sectors will take the "fun from government for the distribution of national cake" to government of regulation and taxation for the production of value in the interest of the customers and stakeholders.

My dear friends and well respected professionals, Nigerians enemy is not privatization, but the enemies now is government monopoly and later will be the management of the gains of privatization from the savings from government annual subventions and sales of the government agencies and how the government prevents monopolistic abuses.

Nigerians must rise and say YES to ongoing exercise to "sell Nigeria", its assets and return Nigeria to a productive economy endowed by the almighty God to be a blessed and productive country. Pharaoh the king of Egypt in the Bible put a slave prisoner and foreigner (Joseph) in charge of his economy and this singular action solved the problem of hunger and famine in the world. United States of America is great today because they allow investors from all over the world to invest in their country. Japan economy is struggling now because they closed their door initially to private investors. Russia, China fathers of socialism and nationalization, and other socialist country are going all over the world looking for investors.

The way forward for Nigeria is the need to align our thinking with the global thinking which is that socioeconomic sector management has become increasingly results and customer focused. In part this reflects a growing unwillingness of the community and the government to accept the continuation of historic commitments simply because they are historic. But it is also apparent in the way senior public sector executives globally now think about their jobs and responsibilities. "In this global environment greater attention is being given to targets, to measurement against them, and to productivity gains, as well as to the continued relevance and value of specific activities and programs".

Aluta continua Victory are certain!!!

January 2002