There
is no doubt that Nigeria is a blessed country that is too rich to be poor. God
in his infinite mercy has endowed us with enormous mineral resources such as
crude oil, cocoa, rubber, limestone, bitumen, vast amount of land that could be
used for agriculture etc. It is also interesting that Nigerians are doing
exploit in developed nations of the world. It tells us that we have the
required human capital resources to make Nigeria great if there is an enabling
environment. Yet we have remained a sleeping giant because of the wasteful
managers that has ruled us since independence. It is also worrisome due to lack
of creativity on part of the government and corruption of some citizens in
country, we are now in recession. A country that has enough to be our brother’s
keeper, is now begging to survive.
The present recession in the country is the
direct manifestation of our lackadaisical attitude in terms of planning for the
rainy day. Getting out of recession requires us matching our words with actions;
it requires us to expunge all the bad vices that have led us to this economic
turbulence starting from our orientation. The get rich syndrome and selfish
nature of ascribing to oneself the nation’s resources at the detriment of
others must stop. If this cycle of insincerity exhibited by our leaders and
dogmatic followership because of what we stand to gain continues unabated, in
no too distant future, Nigeria will be poorest nation in the world.
Officially
Nigeria is in recession. Even an illiterate knows all is not well with the
Nigerian economy, the drastic fall in trade and industrial activities since the
1st quarter of 2016 indicates that we are dire in need of an economic
messiah. High inflation rates has led to risen prices of foodstuffs and other
items in the market, retrenchment assuming a new dimension in the private
sector with financial and manufacturing industries mostly affected, it is even
alarming the rate at which the three tiers of government are finding it hard to
pay workers’ salaries, on daily basis many firms are closing down operations to
seek greener pastures in neighboring african countries due to central bank of
Nigeria policies on forex trading (recently erisco food limited, an indigenous
tomato manufacturing company announces its plan to shut down operations, well
over 1500 employees are expected to lose their jobs).Many technocrats have
proffer solutions to help Nigeria escape out of this economy disarray yet the
ugly face of recession keeps staring at us.
The
presidency has been advised to constitute a sound economic team, I agree, what
miracle will this team of experts perform on an economy that solely depends on
oil? Unfortunately the fall in crude oil prices in the world market has made
the locust effect of recession grave on our economy. An average Nigerian now
lives below poverty level. Our improper planning for years has driven us to
this economic backwardness; we are all at fault from the Nigerian government to
its citizens. We all need to go back to the drawing board, identify what we did
wrong in the past? , then proffer solutions, if not, the best brain in the
world if constituted as an economy team, may not be able to salvage the
situation before we call for their heads.
Causes
and solutions to Nigerian recession:
i)
Dependence on one source of
income and lack of creativity by government: Before the
advent of
the
oil boom in the 70’s, the Nigerian state had survived creditably well on
agriculture, we played major role in the exports of agricultural produce
(cocoa, rubber and textiles) on the world stage. Neither were we rich nor poor
as well. Ours was a balanced economy with the existence of low, middle and high
class. Immediately after the discovery and subsequent exploration of crude oil,
we abandoned the agricultural sector which was thriving and the manufacturing
sector that was just kick starting. All attention was shifted to our new found
love-black gold. To make matters worse, previous government that has ruled
Nigeria till date lacked the inner urge to be creative. Every presidential
aspirant seeking to govern the sovereignty Nigeria always has the impression that
if the prices of crude oil does well in the international market, the Nigerian
economy will flourish under his administration, even budget funding and
implementation is sole dependent on crude oil sales. The idea to take risk to
invest in other untapped resources in the country which are enormous does not
just fall in place. Perhaps if previous government had created equilibrium in
all vital sectors of the Nigerian economy, definitely we won’t have been in
this state of economic turbulence. Each central government that has ruled
Nigeria since exploration of oil has refused to diversify the economy for the
rainy day. Finally the question that has
been bothering so many observers of the oil and gas sector in the nation is
simple – funds derived from massive crude oil boom for well over 15 years until
2015, how prudently has it been spent?
Way
out: As a matter of urgency government needs to
diversify the Nigerian economy by investing in other alternative sector which
can jerk up the revenue of the country. We must learn from other developed
nations of the world. It is not an understatement that Nigeria could be a key
player in the tourism industry, if we do what needs to be done. Developed
countries such as USA and France generated well over $200 billion and $60
billion respectively alone in 2014. Another sector that the government should
look into is real estate and construction, we should emulate the Dubai economy
that has now been diversified, formerly it was built on the oil industry but
today revenues from gas/oil accounts for less than 7% of the IGR of Dubai’s
economy because oil reserves have diminished significantly and is expected to
be exhausted in 20years. Today real estate and construction plays a significant
role in Dubai’s economy, it account for 22.6% of its revenue in 2014. Other
sector of the Nigerian economy which needs adequate funding includes Industrial
agriculture (revitalization of cocoa and rubber exporting), textile industries,
manufacturing sector, exploration of bitumen which research shows a large
deposit exists in Iriele, Ondo state, untapped gas reserves of about 192million
cubic feet as reported by NNPC which could be harnessed to generate high energy
production that could be exported etc. Aside from premium motor spirit (PMS), diesel
and kerosene derived from crude oil, there a lot of other byproducts gotten
from refining oil which includes leather used for making bags, shoes, tyres etc.
Also there is nitrogen a basic component used for making fertilizers. If we put
the necessary machinery in place, we could become major exporter of leather and
fertilizers rather than importing. Only in 2011, Nigeria was the 3rd
largest producer of crude palm oil with 2.3 million hectares under cultivation;
nothing should stop us from exporting palm oil just like Malaysia and
Indonesia. We must learn from other flourishing Africa nations such as Tunisia
and South Africa which runs a mixed economy.
Well
to do individuals among us needs to take the bull by horn and stop their focus
on oil blocks, by emulating the likes of Bill gates who is presently investing
in genetic engineering outside the field of computer science, Lin Yonghao (China’s
richest chicken farmer) who is also investing in agriculture amidst other chain
of businesses.
ii)
Corruption and mismanagement: There is no doubt that Nigeria is an oil giant
around the
globe,
we have made more money than expected over the past few years that could have
been sufficient to last us till eternity (forgive my exaggeration) but how
judiciously have such funds been spent will for a long time remain a debate? Rather than utilizing revenues made from crude
oil wisely, previous government that has ruled Nigeria through one form of
policies or white elephant projects has depleted and siphoned funds into few
individuals pocket, even when the government appears to be sincere in pursuing
a policy to a logical conclusion, managers appointed to implement a policy sees
it as an avenue to grab out of the national cake through inflation of
contracts, constructing substandard projects etc. It is quite unfortunate such
money would have played a major role in developing other vital sectors of the
Nigerian economy. It is also very
disheartening that every attempt by the appropriate agencies to recover stolen
funds from the corrupt has been scuttled by the Nigerian judiciary.
Way
out:
Sanity needs to be brought back into the
Nigerian judiciary because it is has become a safe haven for corrupt officials.
The judiciary should stop being a tool to circumvent justice against the corrupt;
it will serve as deterrence to others. Erring judges who decides to aid and
albeit those who have mismanaged funds should be blacklisted, license to
operate should be withdrawn.
The
Nigerian government in all its dealings should be a strong advocate for zero
level tolerance for corruption. Presently the anti-corruption crusade of the
presidency is applauded and it must be intensified. President Buhari must
emulate the current leadership of Tanzania under President John Magufuli who has
been ruthless using the judiciary to pursue, fish out and subsequent trials of
corrupt officials, well over 400cases of corruption are presently in court
which includes the trial and sentence of former Tanzanian revenue authority
boss (Harry Kitilya), even those closer to him have not been left out.
Finally
the orientation of every Nigerian citizen must change, holding a public
position or appointed to manage an agency should not be seen as an avenue to
enrich our pockets. It should be an
opportunity to serve.
iii)
Insatiable thirst for imported
products: All Nigerian is guilty of this offence, our rush
for imported
goods
is alarming, instead of allowing money to circulate in the Nigerian economy
through buying and selling of made in Nigerian goods, all in the name of
quality we all lust after foreign goods from clothing, jewelries etc. The
aftermath effect on our economy is that huge sum of Nigerian money is heavily
invested into other countries thereby making their economic stable. Worst still
some visionless individuals amongst us set up factories in foreign lands, only
to import raw materials from Nigeria, refined it and sell it back to Nigerians.
When they come back home, we shower encomiums on them as successful
entrepreneurs. Are they truly a blessing to us?
Whose economies are they making viable, the countries where their
factories are or Nigeria?
Way
out: In order to improve the quality of made in
Nigeria goods, we must patronize locally made products, before production on a
large scale, appropriate institutions in the country without fear of favor and
external influence should evaluate and recommend ways to improve quality of
local goods that can compete both locally and internationally for acceptance.
The federal government should implement policies that will restrict the
importation of goods that we have abundant resources and necessary manpower to
produce in the country. I look forward to a time in the future where we
Nigerians will stop importing rice into the country from neighboring west – african
nations but rather export on a large scale. It is not an overstatement that we
have the vast amount of arable to land to cultivate rice.
iv)
Excessive use of funds to run
democracy: Before the return of Nigeria to democracy in May
1999,
so
many of us had believed that most military administrator that had ruled us were
spendthrift, but the reality on ground shows that in terms of spending, they
were conservative when compared to those we elected to rule us. The Nigerian
constitution has been structured to favor few cabals that want to control the
nation’s riches at all cost. We are spending too much money all in the name of
democracy to run government activities. From the much publicized budget
paddling cum constituency allowances which is a virus that has existed in the
Nigerian legislature for so long to pensions for former governors and presidents
who at most served 8 years in office to huge billions of naira for security
votes which are never spent to unnecessary appointments of many governors and
presidential aides to duplication of agencies and ministries pursuing the same
goal to unjustified overhead cost to foot bill for foreign trips – the list is
just endless.
Way
out:
There is the urgent need to review the Nigerian constitution to block loopholes
aforementioned above used to drain government funds, embrace uni-cameral system
of legislature which should be on part time basis to prevent duplication of
resources/efforts. Public office holder’s remuneration should be made less
attractive. We must encourage service to humanity.
v)
We are too certificate conscious:
On yearly basis, tertiary institutions in the country churned out
thousands
of graduates who have come to realize the era of “white collar jobs” is over. Except
for a few of them who dare all odd to be creative, others day-dream of jobs
that might never materialize in years to come. The inability of most graduates
to utilize the abundant human and material resources at our disposal in the
country is another cause of our present recession which for years we have
failed to tackle. Unfortunately our graduates are not to blame but the
curriculum planners who have failed to inculcate wealth creation in the
curriculum.
Way
out:
The make-belief impression that graduating with a good grade will not guarantee
securing jobs because the labor market is oversaturated. Our curriculum
planners in the country needs to restructure the educational system to ensure
more emphasis is placed on wealth creation rather than making our students
certificate driven. Those in charge of the curriculum must prioritize the
learning of vocational and ICT skills for students thus making them self-independent
immediately after graduation. Pass.ng a portal created by group of graduates
from Ladoke Akintola University, Ogbomosho, Oyo State to help students prepared
for examinations of joint admission and matriculation board is a typical
example of the untapped energy and creativity of our graduate if harnessed
properly.
Finally
it is impossible for us to utilize the abundant resources at our disposal in Nigeria;
we need foreign investors with the expertise and funds. We can’t attract
investors into the country, if they know that their lives will be in danger. Government
must as matters of urgency ensure there is adequate security of lives and
property. On a concluding note,
recession did not just start in a day in the country; it took years of insincerity
and improper planning by the government of the federal republic of Nigeria and
its citizenry, therefore getting out of this recession requires that we plan
ahead; it is not child’s play. I am of the opinion if we address some of the
cogent issues raised in this essay, it will go a long way in stabilizing the
economy of our great nation called Nigeria. A new Nigeria is possible if we put
our words into action. God bless Nigeria my country.
Babafemi
Samuel
princefm@live.com
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