|
The Ant And Elephant: Developmental Challenges Facing Nigeria By Prince Charles Dickson Jos, Plateau Nigeria
Very
recently before he midwife the third term agenda, I had the privilege of
having an interview with the Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu, in
the course of the interview, he lost his cool when we asked him “that we
felt Nigerians were poorer now then they were in 1999 ?” The DSP
shouted, argued, yet said nothing, on this simple count, he asked that
we have lunch which turned to breakfast the next day, to drive home his
argument against that assertion. He said he had no figures to back him
but that he was going to get in touch with the Central Bank of Nigeria
Governor, and true the following morning, a Sunday ironically the CBN
Governor had to quickly drop by on his way to church to deliver as
'usual' figures.
He
dropped a documentary book on the National Economic Empowerment and
Development Strategy NEEDS. Nigeria’s poverty reduction measures, it was
a hundred and eighteen pages manual laced with beautiful words and
promises, and achie vement, it talked of significant improvements having
been recorded in many areas since 1999 and then I love the assertion
“Nigeria’s rich human and material resource endowments give it the
potential to become Africa’s largest economy and a major player in
global economy” At this I just laughed, may Allah not allow us to
continue to remain a nation of potentials, during the initial Poverty
Alleviation Programme initiative of this administration, it was same
story, potential, during vision 2010 before it, we heard we have the
potential. But much of this potential remains untapped and on occasions
out rightly abused by those that should be facilitating the harnessing
of these potentials.
I make
bold to say despite all this magical figures and statistical
presentation regarding per capita GDP, we are still rated among the
lowest since the 1980’s till date, costing us decades to development,
the nations annual per capita GDP has remained stagnant. Compared with
other African countries like in Malaysia and Indonesia, our economic
development has been disappointing, we have with a GDP of about 45
billion and a per capita income of about 300 Dollars a year mai ntained
the honour of being one of the poorest in the globe. Per capita income
is 20 % lower than it was in 1975.
Regional
and sectoral unevenness in growth performance is high despite seven
years of active inaction with the government's razzmatazz of figures
very little has been achieved. The true picture is a distorted mess in
propaganda and slighted falsehood of what is on ground regarding
everyday living. Every document from the government, one lays his hands
on, is talking G.S.M, liberalisation of the service sector, foreign
direct investment in the non oil sector but the real truth is that this
ha s not helped in reducing unemployment, strife and disorientation with
leadership; take home wages is at conflict with living wages the so-
called improvement in agriculture has facilitated increase in prices of
agricultural products in the local market, nothing or little is honestly
working. Like in 1998, the country was faced with both a failed state
and failed economy I repeat like the NEED’S Document Nigerians are
leaving the country in droves. Even if it is to drive a truck between
the Kuwaiti border and Iraq or to run a barber's shop in conflict torn
Sudan
Confidence in the Nigerian experiment is at an all time low, the
enviroment for doing business is as bad as BAD, no energy, poor road
network, insecurity, poor incentives to the locals and we pat ourselves
and say there is hope in the horizon. High cost of doing business, with
private agents keeping the bulk of their assets abroad because of the
belief that it is safer. With more than 2 million Nigerians (mostly
highly educated) in Europe and UK ‘’things are indeed getting better’’
The
Obasanjo led administration has left finances of all levels of
government in poor shape. With even macroeconomic policy being highly
circumscribed by an inefficient, highly volatile and untenable public
sector spending, which is largely, based on the oil experts which
account for 95 percent of exports, thus an undiversified economic
structure. Naturally this serves as bedrock of policy incoherence as the
Ministry of Solid Minerals will still have to depend on funds for the
Ministry of Petroleum.
Despite
all these we still maintain one of the highest rate of urbanisation of
about 5.3 percent per year, with a stagnant secondary sector urban
unemployment, and its sister problems of slums, crime and with
socio-political tensions remaining high, this trend will continue
because the urbanisation is based largely on the premise that the
economy is dominated by the public sector, so everyone wants to be where
government is, the task of transiting to a private – sector led market
is continues to be a mirage.
Finally
it is good that the government can acknowledge that our society is
heavily dysfunctional as we face all the fundamental challenges of
transition from statism and rent- seeking in an economy dominated by a
fraudulent public sector. The deep vested interests that profit from the
system have proved resilient. They are the same profiteers singing third
term and they have been strengthened by the evidence of weak
institutions. So in their own very words “implementation failure in
Nigeria will remain persistent”.&n bsp; Whether it is, PAP, NEEDS,
SEEDS, LEEDS, or all the configuration of s, e, d, it makes no sense to
the common man. Oh! Almighty Allah is there hope on the horizon?
|