Consider these: (a) “Plateau citizens honour ex-Governor, Simon Lalong as the best governor of modern times”.  Or (b) “EFCC arrests ex-Governor, Simon Lalong of Plateau state on allegations of financial impropriety”.

Any of the above could be the newspaper headline in the not too distant future after Lalong completes his term(s).

As we speak, that “future” story is being written by Lalong through his actions, in-actions, development strides, choices, policies and leadership style etc.

In that article, I can imagine that the longest paragraph will perhaps relate to how the N75 billion Paris debt refund which has just been made available to Plateau was spent, managed (or mis-managed). I imagine that in green italicised text, will be mentions of the sheer fortune and luck of having that N75 billion economic game changer and cash flow in such a “broke” and cash-strap state.

In red text, will then be analysis of how the monies were managed, what it was spent on? How it has impacted the lives of Plateau citizens (or not), how it has reduced unemployment (or not). And whether or not it was spent judiciously.

So how will that story be told? Will it be told with pride and reverence, that Lalong etched his name in the annals of history by redeeming and “rescuing” Plateau from economic damnation or will it be that he further yorked the unborn generations by squandering and pillaging their common wealth? Tick….tick… tick…. the clock rolls on and time shall tell.

So far, glimmers of Lalong being on the right side of history are evident. And everyone’s hope is that he can do even more. But to whom more is given, more is expected. N75 billion is an incredible amount of money. That is approximately 200% of our yearly subvention from FG and can pay-off almost 45% of Plateau’s current debt. So the fortune of having this economic game changer cannot be over-emphasised. It is akin to giving a clinically dead fellow, who is in ICU –a lifeline.

As such, the responsibility of ensuring that the monies are not wasted, but used judiciously to free Plateau from its economic woes cannot be over-stated. Currently over 85% of Plateau graduates and youths are jobless. If such monies go towards youth orientated projects, the value of that to the overall economy will be incredible. The crime rate in our communities will drop, productivity will increase, the quality of life will improve and the revenue which accrues to the state will also increase –making it more buoyant.

Key projects which offer the benefits I have described above include: the comatose JIB, BARC farms, Jos Main Market, the Bokkos fertilizer blending plant etc. In the past, Governor Lalong mentioned that these were already in his plan of action, see: http://www.viewpointnigeria.com/barr-lalong-holds-interactive-session-plateau-state-association-psa-uk/. As such it will be great to start to see that rhetoric matched with action.

The over-arching point however, is that the government must realise that this sort of bulk funds do not come often –it probably comes once in a lifetime and therefore a plan of how to spend it judiciously needs to be in place. Large infrastructure projects like roads, bridges etc are important, but we must think beyond these and consider what ventures Plateau can go into that will be income generating. What ventures can generate an addition N1 billion per month to our IGR (which is currently ess than N800 million per month). Is mining the way to go? Is big scale agriculture the way to go? Is tourism the way to go? Is it entertainment or IT? Deep thought needs to be given to how Plateau can be freed from the current state of economic slavery. With N75 billion from the Paris Club Refunds, Lalong indeed has a date with history. 

Dr. Chinan Mclean

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With N75 Billion in the coffers, Lalong has a date with history