By Okoi Obono-Obla
When Reform Becomes a Big Deal-
What is a big deal? It is when government becomes so atrophied that it abandons its role as a regulator, and someone steps in to turn around the machinery of governance, its institutions, and agencies. That is a big deal.
If the Central Bank, over the years, abandoned its primary responsibility and turned into an instrument that endangered the entire economy, then it is a big deal. Then it is a big deal when the President appoints competent people who have returned the Central Bank to its traditional primary statutory functions. If state governments, dependent on revenue allocation from the center, were unable to pay salaries but now can—because government no longer spends the bulk of resources on phony oil marketers under a bogus petroleum subsidy—then it is a big deal.
It is a big deal when, for the first time in over five decades, the government floats a student loan scheme to enable indigent students who could not afford tertiary education to go to school, empowering themselves to become future leaders of tomorrow. It is not a big deal when, for the first time, the government floats a credit corporation to enable people who do not have money to buy what they want until such a time they can repay.
It is a big deal when the federal government embarks on two of the most ambitious infrastructural development projects—the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Badagry-Sokoto Highway—that will open up the country and serve as catalysts for interregional trade, commerce, people-to-people exchange, and the free movement of goods and services.
It is a big deal when international rating agencies, including the IMF, predict positive economic outlooks for the country and project a four percent economic growth this year.
It is a big deal to reform government and renew hope for those who were once disillusioned, hopeless, despaired, and disaffected. It is a big deal because reform restores trust, strengthens institutions, and rekindles the belief that governance can serve the people.
In the end, reform is not just policy—it is the rebirth of hope, the restoration of dignity, and the promise of a brighter future. And that is truly a big deal.
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