I extend warm greetings to Nigerians around the world on this occasion of our 56th anniversary as a country.
My thoughts turn first towards the founding fathers of our nation. I applaud their sacrifice and the legacy they have left behind. Yes, we are politically free but still constrained economically to the apron strings of erstwhile colonial masters. Ours is a tale of a country that has been hijacked by the Brettonwood institutions and an insignificant few in terms of number, who now manipulate the system to their own personal aggrandizement. The politicians collude with the big players in the economy to rape the treasury, leaving the people prostrate, hopeless and frustrated.
We are clearly embittered seeing Nigerians lose their jobs in droves and the people in charge are doing nothing in terms of initiating stimulus economic policies other than the clamour for sale of national assets. The cabal have long infiltrated the polity. In fact, virtually every bill passed in the National Assembly today is to the advantage of these few Nigerians.
Nigeria is the sixth oil-producing country in the world yet the poorest. Are we heading in the right direction? No. The backbone of every democracy is a vibrant parliament or National Assembly (as it is in our own case), unbiased judiciary, media and active organised labour/civil society. Unfortunately, out of all these only labour and its civil society ally appear to be interested in the development and growth of the country. Profligacy has become the order of the day, especially the Eight Assembly. At first it was the issue of salary and allowances; exotic and bulletproof cars for lawmakers and their wives, budget padding, etc. They play politics without principles, amass wealth without work. “We are patriots and we feel your pains”, they say, but their actions speak otherwise.
I wish to assess the following areas:
POLITICS:
A lot has been said about our style of politicking in my introduction, but I have a few more things to add. The political terrain is a battlefield. Put differently, politics has become a do-or-die instead of a service to the people. We are a people blessed with human and natural resources but cursed with bad leadership. Our leaders care less and never give a hoot about nation-building. India, Nigeria, China, Malaysia were in the league of third world countries a few decades ago but now they have created a niche for themselves in the global economy.
It is our resolve that blame and counter-blame will do us no good. It hurts that the country is in a recession, but hurts more that even in the midst of the untold hardship the lawmakers are busy dwelling on inconsequential. The ministers and other government agencies are not left out of these blames. We are distraught by the fact that federal government and most state governments refuse to remit our deducted pension and the promised new minimum wage and palliatives meant to cushion the pain caused by the last deregulation has not been implemented. At inauguration at all levels of government, their speeches presented a wind of hope to Nigerians. But no sooner were they sworn in that they made national interest optional, dashing our hope again. Why the leadership of the Senate and some of his colleagues called for the sale of performing national assets still beats our imagination. It is a shame!
ECONOMY:
There is no gainsaying the fact that all sectors of our economy have collapsed, and our most cherished naira bows every hour to foreign currencies. As at yesterday the naira exchanged for between N480 and N492 per US dollar. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) appears hopeless, not knowing what to do. Many companies have close shops while others are fleeing the country, a situation that has lead to millions of job losses. Our economy has been hijacked by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and a few wealthy Nigerians and the society is the worse for it.
The challenge before the country is the few greedy Nigerians who see the country as their personal property. They use our commonwealth to buy our viable national assets only to turn them to warehouses. They are paid upfront to fix the refineries that never worked; they increase the price of fuel to N145 per litre; canvass for the sale of LNLG, Airports, Sea Ports, etc. They have a common goal, which is to loot.
The report from Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in its Second Quarter released at the beginning of September 2016, noted that the fortune of the economy has dwindled by 2.06 per cent which has never happened in the last three decades. We have been assured that the recession will soon be over; we agree but it is important government look beyond the ruling party to source for capable hands that can help save our economy. All hands must be on deck to ensure that we become economically free by exporting more than we import and by patronising made in Nigeria goods.
INSECURITY
The Congress appreciates the military for their effort so far at maintaining peace in the country. We also share their pains and that of families who lost their loved ones in the North-east and Niger Delta while trying to stall the activities of the militants. Be that as it may, what the military is doing at the moment in those regions can best be described as “addressing the symptoms”. The main causes of the unrest itself must be looked into – unemployment, poverty, etc.
The saying, an idle hand is the devil’s workshop is the case here. Where there is good leadership there would be development; where there is development there would be jobs; and when there are jobs there would be no youths in the street waiting to be used for political thuggery.
SALE OF NATIONAL ASSETS
In our race to come out of the recent recession that has bedevilled the country, caution should be taken to ensure we do not auction our life-wire to people as being suggested by Nigerian governors during the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting and a few other Nigerians. The consequences of such action would be disastrous. Tell me of any asset sold in this country without hundreds of people losing their jobs! Did they even tell us what they did with the proceeds?
Truly, we are experiencing increasing economic complexities, but that does not mean we should sell our birthright for a mussel of porridge. If only those canvassing this will pay their appropriate taxes and the economy well diversified we wouldn’t be complaining by now. Let us remember that if those who invested in the assets had sold them, the current administration would not have been able to bailout some state governments when they cried for help some months ago. The recommendation of the sale is hasty, unreasonable and we suspect foul play. Our challenge as a country is not paucity of resources, but rather the inability (or deliberate refusal) of successive governments to convert the “blessings” for the general good of all.
OIL AND GAS
The oil and gas industry is the country’s cash cow. Sadly government like those in the past do not even know how many barrels of oil the country produces. They told us deregulation was the only way to go; they have deregulated yet the status-quo remains. Meanwhile prices of commodities have sky-rocketed. We urge government to demilitarise the Niger Delta and seek peace so that the country can recover fast.
It suffices to say here that we are disappointed in the Ministry of Petroleum and Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA). The poor performance of PPPRA is not a surprise to us because we had expected it. Government skilfully shove labour out of PPPRA so it can have reason to justify the deregulation. Such a step is dangerous for a nation that is economically gasping for breath.
We call on government to commence the process of making the sector more viable. It should also encourage local refining processes. The Congress is convinced that the oil and gas workers can successively manage the sector if government stops unnecessary interference. They are capable of making it vibrant enough to fund a large percentage of the national budget. We also call for the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). The bill would address the insurgency situation in the Niger Delta as their demands are duly taken care of in the bill. Losing over N61trn according the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) report to non-passage of PIB at this time makes us look unserious before the international community. The cost of fighting the insurgents is not inclusive in the amount cited above. What about the lives of our soldiers that are dying on a daily basis? This is a needless war!
CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA
The Central Bank of Nigeria has not got it right on a number of policies. First is the conscious devaluation of the naira. Today, the naira is not only unpredictable but also subservient to virtually all foreign currencies. We are a mono-economy now battered by the combined forces of devaluation and inflation. Growing an economy is about local production/investment directed at massive development. We expect that managers of the economy should know that, regrettably they prefer to dance to the turn of International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.
In addition, the CBN should shun this conspiracy and romance with the Bureau De Change and banks to manipulate the exchange rate while neglecting its core duties, which include: determination of foreign exchange rate for the naira and to maintain appropriate external reserve. The apex bank has been found wanting in these areas. We urge the Federal Government Economy Team and the CBN to appreciate the fact that growing an economy is about local production/investment, no more no less.
CORRUPTION
Unbridled greed and corruption are like Siemens twins. These two evils are responsible for the country’s abysmal under-development. The scourge is flourishing in the polity and the economic cycle. Painfully the more you try to fight it the more it fights back, apology to politicians.
In 2013, Transparency International declared Nigeria as the 144th in Corruption Perception Index out of the 177 countries. While our politicians have since perfected the act of election-rigging and passing of anti-people laws their partners in crime and big players in the economy are awarded contracts for Turn-Around-Maintenance (TAM) of the refineries, roads, etc. It will be recalled that the money meant for arms procurement for the prosecution of the Boko Haram war was misappropriated; likewise all the people awarded contracts to develop the Niger Delta region. It has always been the pattern and we will be deceiving ourselves to think corruption is not taking place under this administration. It is disheartening to know that some privileged individuals are diverting grains meant for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). This is regrettable! We advocate that state of emergency be declared on corruption. It has to be fought without vendetta or favor; and people must be convicted. Is this too much to ask?
Where have they ever got it right? The education sector is in a sorry state. In fact, our best university is not even among the best 1000 in Africa, talkless of the world. The government has never implemented the 26.5 percent of annual budget mandated by UNESCO. All their policies in the sector are never implemented.
LESSON FROM SAUDI ARABIA GOVERNMENT
The cost of servicing our presidential system of government is too grave to bear. It is an institutional problem. Politics is big business in Nigeria and we urge the executive, legislature and judiciary to lead by example by slashing their salaries and allowances just like the Saudi Arabia government has done. This is one way to tell Nigerians that they truly feel our pain as they profess.
Thank you!
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