By Anie
Udoh "All
that the downtrodden can do is go on hoping. After every disappointment
they must find fresh reason to hope." - It is no
longer news that Nigeria,
noted in a spurious survey as inhabited by the happiest people on earth
is ever engulfed in the gloom of a dreaded past that has hindered her
liberation to a beckoning future of hope, happiness, wealth and true
greatness. The nation is ever gripped with the Nothing Ever Works
Syndrome (NEWS). Word merchants will tell you bad news is good news.
Really? As if inspired by such perverse philosophy The growing
public cynicism about the reform proposals of the government is a
manifest symptom of the NEWS. The fresh thinking in government circles
to inject some youthful and professional inputs into governance is a
development less appreciated by a frustrated and distressed populace.
The new wave of reforms sweeping through the socio-economic landscape is
needful in treating the national malaise of the NEWS. It sure threatens
the interests of a few vocal, powerful and parasitic cabal. The same
group who propagate the doctrine of public apathy and a maddening
refusal to understand and appreciate the basic principles behind the
reform packages. A case in
point is Soludo's Economic Experiment (SEE), showcased in his National
Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS). Professor Charles
Soludo, the erstwhile economic adviser the president and now governor of
the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) , is a proud home-grown economist.
Soludo comes on stage with impressive academic credentials. A first
class scholar who excelled against the odds in the not so conducive
academic environment in However, the
youthful professor's experience in the application of the economic
theories he seems to have learnt and understood so well is rather
limited. Going by his advertised resume, his first major chance in the
practical world of economics appears to be his new turf at the helm of
the CBN, in an executive capacity. The CBN governor, who inferred a
preference to the title of a Vice Chancellor, perhaps in admiration of
their authoritarian style in ruling the Nigerian universities, frayed
public nerves in his first official outing with his now (in) famous 14
Commandments of The cynical
Nigerian public ever skeptical about the ability of government policies
to deliver desired public goods hastily made a pick of Soludo's 'golden
rule': N25billion capital base for banks in Soludo as a
good student of economics is aware and would appreciate the rationale
and good judgment of John Maynard Keynes that, "economics is a
technique of thinking ...and not a body of settled conclusion."
Moreover, economic theories unlike the pure science cannot be tested in
a controlled environment or rehearsed before the real thing. Economic
tests come on direct in live shows in actual human settings. It
therefore demands utmost caution on the part of policymakers in
transmitting economic brainwaves intended to buoy the people to the good
life to allow such sink gradually. This is to mitigate against the shock
of change and the risk of failure which could drown the people in the
sea of hardship, helplessness, hopelessness and to the depth of distress
and despair. In truth government's good intention is not
sufficient to sway public opinion, an essential first step to the needed
public support if the set objectives of the proposed reforms must be
met. Indeed the Nigerian people have become weary of seeing their
country turned into a sort of theatre for flawed economic experiments.
Public policies predicated on government's orchestrated propaganda and
foisted on the nation without appropriate sensitivity test can hardly be
sustained. The failure of such hollow policies deepens poverty, spread
hardship. erode public confidence, and inflame civic discontent and
moral crises. These cannot be the intention of a responsible government.
The fanfare often displayed in launching public policies is hardly
matched with sustained, disciplined commitment by policymakers in
carrying out such policies to fruition. The policies are primarily
sabotaged through executive graft, bureaucratic corruption,
administrative lethargy, nepotism, fiscal indiscipline, personnel
ineptitude and government arrogance. With the
mindset of a Vice Chancellor, Soludo could well drift into the feudal
mentality of 'we' versus 'them' insisting on decreeing his academic
hypothesis into existence. such posturing could well crowd out the
generality of the people to the fringe of meaningless suffering.
Soludo's kinsman Chinwoke Mbadinuju (remember him?) had once cautioned
against unbridled intellectual exuberant of scholars in public office.
In his words, "an intellectual in Nigerian politics should on no
account sound off as a scholar. Else, he would be engaging in
self-alienation, the greatest calamity that could befall anyone in
electoral politics or holding elective office...Identification with the
community is imperative even if the society in question is composed of
illiterates and ...the leadership of the people a scintillating
scholar." There is little evidence that the cerebral erstwhile
governor of Taken on
face value the reform proposals appear well articulated and capable of
demobilizing the economy that has remained largely unproductive with an
inordinate propensity for consumption. The banking and financial sector
reform policy holds promise for an economy that will benefit from a
well-structured and stronger foundation of financial solvency and fiscal
discipline. If policymakers can humble themselves and muster the faith
and steadfastness to carry through with the reform programmes, the
nation and indeed the people will be better off. However,
government must learn to show understanding and appreciate genuine
public concerns against the backdrop of a disappointing past where
peoples' attitude would have been adversely altered and their trust in
government waned. Following protracted public policy failures, the
Nigerian people have been pushed beyond the threshold of hardship and
suffering where many may have lost the appetite to live. The reform
proposal of NEEDS and its subsets has rekindled the flame of hope for Anie Udoh E-mail: anieudo@hotmail.com |