ONE funny aspect of
this “blame game” thing, is that you only see what has gone wrong in terms of
“the other person” – the person you are pointing accusing fingers at. You
hardly realise that as you point one finger at the other person, three of your
other fingers are also accusing you, but they are usually hidden from your
sight. In the Bible, Our Lord Jesus Christ warned us not to judge others, but
to first of all remove the log in our eyes before complaining about the speck
in the eyes of our neighbours (or opponents).
We are in an economic
recession. Two questions are pertinent: (a) how did we get there? And (b) how
do we get out of it?
The All Progressives
Congress, APC, Federal Government, in tackling question number one, blames
“others”, but it does not see the roles it played in bringing the nation into
this pass. This is what I am here to address; that we do not allow them to
confuse us with their unrelenting propaganda, the vessel that brought them to
power and which they are depending upon to run the affairs of a nation in a
deep economic distress. Fortunately, the propaganda has lost its allure in the
face of massive suffering, poverty, hunger, mass joblessness and soaring crime
rates. Nobody wants to hear any more excuses, and this applies even to the
apologists of the regime.
APC Federal Government
spokespersons – Garba Shehu, Femi Adesina, Lai Mohammed, name them – have been
blaming the nation’s woes on “16 years of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, rot”.
They said they did not expect the “depth” of the rot they met. Vice President
Yemi Osinbajo files in, and blames PDP Federal Government’s failure to save for
the rainy day, forgetting that the APC sponsored its governors to oppose Dr.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s proposal for us to save when we had an unrivalled oil
boom. They also opposed President Goodluck Jonathan’s plans to deregulate the
downstream sector of the economy to free up funds to attack our infrastructural
deficit. Jonathan, not being “a Pharaoh” (as he put it) weakly buckled to acts
which the opposition deliberately deployed to ensure his downfall.
Former President
Olusegun Obasanjo had shrugged off criticisms and led Nigeria to exit the
slavish debt trap of the Paris Club by engaging Okonjo-Iweala to lead the
negotiations in which we paid $12 billion to escape from a $30 billion debt
burden. Through acts of impunity, Obasanjo created the Excess Crude Account,
ECA, and saved billions, which enabled Nigeria to survive the 2008 worldwide
economic meltdown.
President Umaru
Yar’Adua played a statesman’s trump card through the Amnesty deal, which ended
the militancy in the Niger Delta, thus creating a new impetus for us to enjoy
more oil boom till the tail end of 2014. When Jonathan assumed office, he
embarked on massive infrastructure upgrades nationwide, and this manifested in
our airports, roads, rail, investment in power, education (especially tertiary)
and of course, democratic reforms that made it possible for a powerful
opposition to arise and sweep him from office.
Of course, there was
massive corruption during the PDP years, but tell me in which regime since our
independence when there was no corruption, even this current Buhari regime? The
only difference is that the “enemies” are being targeted, while “friends and
acolytes” are being shielded.
Of course, Nigeria’s
economy grew in leaps and bounds under the PDP, but it was mostly oil-fed. We
became the largest economy in Africa by Gross Domestic Product,GDP, but the
proceeds went mostly to a few privileged and connected individuals. A little
seeped into the middle class, but the mass of the people wallowed in poverty.
This was probably why the 2015 election was called “a revolution of the poor”,
but where has that revolution taken us?
So, yes, the recession
was caused by our failure to save for a rainy day, but it was a collective
failure of the nation. Jonathan cannot escape the blame because as President,
he should have stamped his foot down and done what was best for the country,
rather than dance to the tune of every Tom and Harry just for him to be elected
for a second term.
We are in recession
because we, as a nation, thought we were an “oil-rich” country. If you compare
our best production capacities vis-à-vis our humongous population, and those of
other Organisation of Oil Producing Countries, OPEC, and none-OPEC countries
(such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Norway, Venezuela, USA Angola and others),
it is obvious we are actually an “oil-poor” country and should not have
depended on our oil alone for national survival. That mistake is a collective
blame rooted in the mentality of the ruling class that took charge of Nigeria
after the civil war. It goes beyond the PDP years; it is still evident in this
Buhari administration.
Yes, we are in
recession because of the renewed militancy in the Niger Delta. But who caused
it? Before Buhari came in, we had massive oil theft. But when he assumed office
and came at governance as if on a vengeance mission, the militancy resumed.
Buhari did not realise
the harm he was inflicting on the psyche of the nation when he propounded his
“97%/5%” formula, which went against the Federal Character principle in the
constitution. He used it to divide the country along political party,
religious, regional, ethnic and sectional lines, favouring his kinsmen and
supporters while neglecting those who did not support him.
Not only that, he
mobilised the agencies of state security to go after his perceived opponents in
a one-sided anti-corruption war which only emphasised the return of allegedly
looted funds. He did not make it a holistic affair. Some individuals who felt
the system was blindly and vengefully after them returned to militancy and
plunged the economy deeper into recession. Security threats expanded, from Boko
Haram alone in 2015 to new fronts (the Niger Delta Avengers, armed Fulani
herdsmen, Indigenous People’s of Biafra/MASSOB protests, and the Shiites
uprising in Kaduna).
If Buhari had, on
assuming office, called Nigerians together, told them to forget about the
bruising transitional politicking and work together to rescue the nation from
the imminent economic doom, there would be no other security challenge except
Boko Haram. If he had dealt with the armed herdsmen to protect the people,
formed an inclusive government based on constitutional provisions and brought
in the best hands without looking at their political affiliations, religious
backgrounds and ethno-regional roots, we would be fighting the economic
problems as a united front.
Buhari’s
anti-corruption war is a well-received policy. Nobody can openly say anything
to the contrary. Corruption is a major factor in Nigeria’s backwardness. But
the anti-corruption war should have been an institutional one devoid of
politics. It should not have been merely aimed at recovering stolen funds, and
even that should have been extended to all who stole, not just PDP people and
the president’s political opponents alone.
Buhari de-marketed
Nigeria and Nigerians in several world capitals by calling us crooks. Every
Nigerian is a crook and not to be trusted, except of course, President Buhari,
the man of integrity. The Treasury Single Account, TSA, policy, formulated by
the Jonathan but left unimplemented to avoid harming the financial system, was
put into effect by Buhari without consultation. Banks shrivelled and started
retrenching massively.
His statist policies
and lack of direction for the economy created fear and uncertainties among the
private sector players and investors. After waiting for a clearer picture in
vain, many (like the foreign and local airlines) closed shop and left Nigeria.
Unless Buhari starts
seeing himself as the father of the nation rather than a sectional mujahid
(“holy” warrior), he would never get it right. He must listen to the wise words
of the Senators who are telling him to rejig himself and his government away
from the blunders of the past sixteen months.
If he does so, our
journey out of the recession will be short.
Source: Vanguardngr.
No comments:
Post a Comment