Nigeria as a nation is in due course for a cleansing. The visual symbol in your mind is in mine too, yes that’s what she needs. As the 2023 presidential election draws nearer, virtually everyone’s hope springs eternal for the new administration. Labor Party’s presidential flag bearer, Peter Gregory Obi, has gotten great support from the masses, predominantly being youths. He has proved himself to be a man of integrity and competent personnel for this position.

Peter Obi served as the governor of Anambra state, although his position was contested in the court a few times, his administration was a success. There was a great change for the better in the state finances, healthcare and education, benefits of which are still in effect till this day. However, serving a state is a far cry from serving a nation so there is no doubt there is a lot of work to be done. This article outlines three major areas that needs serious attention.

The area of security should be put in the shade. This is because insecurity in the country is at an all time high. It roams in the schools, on the road, train station, in the church, and even seats comfortably in the Federal Capital with little to nothing done about it. It will be a forlorn piece of writing if I begin delving into the recent happenings in the nation. Not to mention the South East residents who have been dealing with ‘seat at home’ orders for a great part of the year even when the lion’s share feed from hand to mouth and have to go out to get their daily bread. One may mention unemployment, default in the education system, inflation, devaluation etc, but what is the point of all that if you’re not sure of going back home safe, what is the point if you’re living amongst terrorists and hardened criminals that escaped overnight?

Secondly, the health sector is an area that needs serious attention. Health indeed is wealth and if you have to wait to be flown abroad before attending to certain medical emergencies then your wealth is not secure enough, in spite of the twirl of global pandemics occurring. It is a relief Obi himself has recently stated while commending the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osibanjo, on following through his medical rehabilitation process in Nigeria; “that as Nigerian leaders we must restore confidence in our healthcare delivery institutions by patronizing and investing robustly in them”. We hope to see this manifest.

Lastly, an area that needs serious attention is the production sector. It is not fictional to state that Nigeria lacks factories and refineries leaving her to depend greatly on importation, periodically for even products made from raw materials she owns. There are 36 states in the country, a number of which are not sustainable because they were not created for any economic advantage. The state of California in the U.S can stand on its own but this may be beyond the bounds of possibility for any Nigerian state. Governors are expected to industrialize their states but there is no evidence of anything being done, most states have no agenda. For instance, Ekiti state produces timber but Nigeria is still importing furniture, rubber is grown in eleven states but she is still importing rubber tires, there are nine oil producing states but she still imports refined petroleum products etc. We cannot improve the standard of living without dealing with the root cause, we can only eradicate the level of poverty we are facing by industrialization.

In conclusion, we all hope for the success of the new administration and that can come to effect by attending to these areas.