Yet again, the uncertainty of this time has exposed our vulnerability as a people and region. We have no food security and no capital. Worse, we have no way of administering social protection and widespread cash transfer to the vulnerable in case of emergency.

The next 10 years will pose the toughest policy challenges for the region and Nigeria as a whole. You don’t need to depend on the Federal government for these prescriptive. If you do not act and lay the building blocks, substantial opportunities will pass us by. Collectively, you can take steps towards inclusive development and bold welfare solutions. If you do, the region will emerge as a strong and virile economic force for the long term.

You will need large-scale investment in education, health and widespread job creation to create a cycle of growth. Where will the money come from? After this pandemic induced economic meltdown, smart money will seek new investments and domains. If you have a viable plan, you can tap into global funds.

Take bold steps and seek fractional private ownership of state tertiary education, strengthen federal school feeding program to reduce dropout rates among the poor, emulate Ekiti state initiative for expectant mothers, keep girls in school program, Owó Arúgbó and Oúnjẹ Arúgbó. Efficient welfare delivery needs substantial investment in last-mile service delivery, for benefits to be allocated properly without fraud and conversion.

To do this, you need an accountable, innovative solution in the form of a Unique Identification Number. This identification number will be issued to every resident, linked to the demographic and biometric information of an individual in a central database. To verify their identity, individuals can provide their number, which would be authenticated by the central database in a few seconds. This is not rocket science. Banks have implemented BVN with huge success. This number will help you plan and administer benefits and services.

It will help people who lack documents to easily fulfil Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements, giving them access to services such as banking and telecoms, and welfare entitlements. There are many things that can be done to improve and generate capital for the people and government, which I will not reveal here. Lagos tried doing this and many did not register. If it had been successful, the most vulnerable would easily have been targeted for welfare packages in this lock down. This is also a lesson for tax forgers and those who interpret every government action as revenue driven.

For any nation, the people are its greatest assets. China marshaled its huge population to its advantage. We can do same. An identification number will form the basis for an innovation system, that will generate responsive governance in which agencies can deploy critical services cheaply in every state within the region. It will help us build our institutions from the scratch and spur growth and hypermodernity.

A resident database is the last mile. Journey to it.

By Bamidele Ademola-Olateju