Living in an Unstable Politico-Economy

By

Victor E. Dike

vdike@cwnet.com

 

 

Recently, this writer ran into a young man who relocated to the United States, with the aid of the Lottery Visa, who complained that it is a challenge to live in Nigeria, because the economy is unstable and things don’t work, as they should. The leaders have abridged the people’s rights and freedom, and because of the contradictions and absurdities in Nigeria, it has become a challenge for the sociologists, political analysts and economists to predict the sociopolitical and economic conditions in the society. Thus there are rising unemployment and poverty in the land and many people are living without the basic necessities of life. And they breed public discontent and disaffection. This fellow appears pleased with “how things are organized” in the US and believed that the divine intervention has saved his life.

 

Granted that the sociopolitical and economic life in Nigeria is currently a mess, as the Police could kill any person and brand the victim an armed robber, and that the unstable politico-economy has made living in Nigeria unusually challenging. After listening to the barrage of concerns and complaints, this writer told the newcomer that as a “Black Man” it is much more difficult and challenging to live in the U.S and that it is too early to dismiss Nigeria as a wild society and embrace the newfound land. He was informed that many surprises await him in the U.S; in fact, few encounters have begun to humble him, but as an American would say he hasn’t seen nothing yet!”

 

This article thus discusses social and political life in an unstable politico-economy and measures to improve the condition of things for the people to achieve their dreams and aspirations.

 

Of what purpose is the above story? Political concepts enable “us to draw connections between political phenomena” and ‘provide some order to the chaos of political life.’ Nigeria is a beautiful nation that has been bastardized by the greedy, selfish, corrupt and visionless leaders. Living in Nigeria could be as enjoyable as living in any other beautiful, stable and prosperous society, only if the leaders would create an enabling environment and imbibe the culture of selfless service and social justice and discard the chronic culture of corruption and waste. It has been rightly noted that Nigerian leaders are “deceitful;” and that the nation may not witness peace and prosperity if the leaders continue to wallow “in deceit and corruption” and if the society substitutes social justice with social injustice.

 

Political life “is related to political power: how it is seized, maintained and exercised.” For Joachim Kondziela (The Catholic University of Lublin, Poland) the “political life is a sphere of public life.” However, “social life” are “the public activities performed in association with others for the purpose of pleasure [including] …the act of dating,” etc.

 

To some extent what applies to one nation applies to another (though with considerations given to differences in technological development and leadership mentality). Living in the West (especially the U.S) is not hunky-dory, and some (if not most) of the rosy pictures painted of life in the West are mere hoop-la. As it were, there is no place like home! Like in any other society, the sociopolitical life in Nigeria is defined by the political and economic situation in the society.

 

Nevertheless, there are inherent risks associated with living in an unstable politico-economy. For instance, rising unemployment, poverty and hardship caused by ineffective and visionless leadership is forcing many young professionals to leave Nigeria to unknown destinations. And the society is constantly in crises that are mostly caused by ignorance and social injustice. It was “Shariah” crisis yesterday and “resource control” today. And nobody knows what may happen tomorrow! It appears that many Nigerians have given up hope and would be “glad to work as slaves in a foreign land” to achieve their purpose on earth than to waste their lives in Nigeria.

 

There were virtually unlimited opportunities in the society yesterday but the long duration of military misrule destroyed everything. Thus Nigerians needed “democracy” like air and hurriedly jumbled up political parties of people with incompatible political ideologies. There is no “democracy” in Nigeria yet and anyone who says the contrary has a bit of Chief Obasanjo in his head, as the present civilian administration has not been able to find solutions to the identified sociopolitical and economic problems in Nigeria.

 

However, human beings cannot perform a task they are not skilled to do. How does one expect a non-democrat to lead an aspiring democratic nation? As President Dwight Eisenhower (1890-1969) was credited to have said “you don’t lead people by hitting them on the head, that is assault not leadership.” The masses are thus hungry and angry!

 

Nigeria’s unstable politico-economy is rooted in leadership ineffectiveness, tribal and regional acrimony, religious intolerance, corruption and social injustice. The chronic problems, which have squeezed the people, escalate whenever the economy takes a nosedive because the many ethnic groups in Nigeria would engage in fierce competition in an attempt to share the scarce resources. Therefore, federal character policy, sharing formula, favoritism and nepotism and have become the norm in the society, with meritocracy tossed out of the window. These are challenges from within (also success comes from within). Thus Nigerians would only change the situation for good only if they could positively change their mentality and begin to learn to create wealth and values in the society instead of idling away and bickering over derivation formula for collecting monthly handouts.

 

Nigeria will not become a prosperous nation enviable by the world if she remains a politically unstable and economically chaotic society with over 70 percent of the population living on less than one US dollar and day (below the poverty line). Poverty and hardship are driving some of the youths to dishonest behavior for survival. Consequently, the “419” scam reared its ugly head in the early nineties and has since gained momentum in the society; and this has stained the image of Nigeria and stigmatized many hard working and honest individuals. (It is appropriate to mention that other nationals also engage in such dishonest behavior.)

 

An unstable politico-economy is unable to support a people and this could cause a nation to collapse. As the newcomer mentioned earlier rightly noted, nothing works in Nigeria, as they should! The supply of energy (electricity and fuel) that is one of the preconditions for sustainable development and economic activity is erratic and the roads are awfully bad. The young man referred to above was wondering, and perhaps surprised, that our “NEPA” has not acted up since he arrived in the US and that “there are no queue in fuel stations.” The dismal politico-economic condition in Nigeria should give any leader worth the name a good reason to worry. But no one blinks!

 

To stabilize the economy appropriate and corrective monetary and fiscal policies are required to regulate business cycle (economic cycle =the ups and downs in parts of an economy). The nature of social expectations and economic institutions in any society control the business cycle but the institutions in Nigeria are defective. But the present harsh and oppressive civilian administration has complicated the bad situation that started during the military era, as the people are battling with unemployment, crime, poverty and hardship. Is there any hope for a better future?

 

During economic downturn (in a normal society) the central bank would lower interest rates by cutting the lending rate, which affects borrowing and investment. And government expenditures provide the quickest and most effective way to stabilize an economy during a fall in business investment. That’s why programs, such as unemployment insurance and social welfare expenditures  (assistance to needy families, etc that are not available to Nigerians), could be powerful stimulants. A good income tax system is another powerful tool, as it provides a reliable source of revenue for national planning. But the policy-makers still can’t get their act together, as national budgets are often not implemented.  Unfortunately, the nation still relies on the slippery oil revenue and the leaders have refused to learn “to fix the roof before the rain begins.” The only sure part to achieve peace and prosperity is simply doing the right thing!

 

Therefore, Nigeria would not achieve much without a comprehensive energy policy to ensure steady supply of fuel and electricity to the economy. This issue has been over-flogged, yet the leaders are dragging their feet in dismantling the monopoly of NEPA, as did in NITEL. Simply changing the name of NEPA to Power Holding of Nigeria, Plc would hardly make any magic, just as the quality of education and literacy rate has not improved since the President transformed the UPE program to UBE. The 2003 UNICEF report put Nigeria’s literacy rate at 47%.

 

Finally, the government could improve investment climate with appropriate monetary policy (management of excess liquidity to control inflation, exchange rate and interests rates, etc), and fiscal policy (tax and expenditures that are growth inducing, etc). The leaders should consistently work to maintain political stability and encourage the entrepreneurs to remain in business (with facilities and incentives) to enable them create employment for the teeming population. This will at last create a stable politico-economy, in which the citizens could live and invest and enjoy a better quality of life. Without that, the society would remain unstable and unattractive and the young and brilliant professionals could utilize every opportunity to storm out of Nigeria.

 

Victor E. Dike, CEO, Center for Social Justice and Human Development (CSJHD), in Sacramento, California, is the author of Fraud or Democracy? The Presidency of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, 2003-2007 [Forthcoming, 2007]. Browse: www.geocities.com/boyi47