NEW LOOK STATES BAIL OUT

Nigeria's Finance Minister, Mrs Kemi Adeosun came up with some right thinking over the weekend. She was quoted as saying that a new package to help cash strapped States of the Nigerian federation meet some pressing bills is on the way.
According to her the Federal Government will no more play the big brother role earlier designed for it by President Buhari but transform more into an IMF kind of helper with conditionalities designed to keep track and engender higher efficiency.
Before being given the bail out handshake this time, States will have to undertake to meet achievable internally generated revenue growth target to be set, undertake biometric audit of its work force, establish efficiency unit in government to promote and monitor cost saving, service delivery and other efficiency parameters relevant to public service and above all, be prepared to publish audited accounts and worship at the altar of transparency and accountability.
Of course this represents a clear deviation from the blanket bail out ordered by the President much earlier in his term while he had no ministers. Buhari's command bail out only focussed on repayment schedule, asked that it should be devoted to salary backlog payment and did not give much thought to efficient application or to what happens after the backlog is cleared?
The new package apparently, is trying to sharpen the blunt edges of the first bail out and thus ensure that Nigeria, as a nation, not just politicians in power reap from it all.
But then, it still comes with its weakness. Yes, Mr governor or his finance commissioner puts pen to paper accepting the conditions, the money is released, then what?
What is in place as a federation to ensure compliance especially by fellow party states and states dominated by the three major tribes in Nigeria that have been taking Nigeria through nauseating 50 years plus of independence?
Besides, where is the bail out money coming from? Is Nigeria or the federal government no more broke? Can the same objectives of higher efficiency and trimmed government be achieved better by Mr governors realising by themselves that the party is over and that buying nomination form and votes with millions of Naira no more guarantees immediate risk free high returns on political investment?
As it looks now, inability to pay salaries when due has also become the reality with the federal government as well. Now who bails it out and who can come up with the conditionalities that can stop the president, for example, from being too free and personal with pronouncements that are doomed to be compromised soon enough, stop the take off political promises that, given the trying times, do not even deserve consideration and ensure that nothing in Nigeria is selectively implemented or hushed relative to political, religious, material and ethnic leanings?
The only thing that indeed can ensure all these and more is the economic downturn now gathering momentum.
It is the only thing that can check organised labour from being so blindly communist in mass thinking, the organised private sector from thinking profit always without due recognition for the role of efficiency, attendant risk and consumer satisfaction in it all, and of course, stop all governments from seeing political office,just as opportunity to better self, the immediate family and friends, and to perpetuate the political party in power.
In these times times, Nigeria needs not pickets, not official threats or administrative fiats to extract more from cows but policies and actions directed solely towards higher efficiency, higher production, more innovation and  more determination to steer clear of politics and sectional interests.
Thus, the new bail out package may mean well while trying to encourage this for troubled states, the fact is that only inevitable response by political leaders forced by the times to be managers  actually offers the lasting potential for getting out of the woods with all shoulders to the wheel.
So, once again, thank God the times are hard.