Revitalizing the Nigerian economy: Beyond western dependence (iv)
Kola Olaniyi
Olaniyi is a graduate of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, kellokelington@yahoo.com, 08068495313
4.0 PRESENT ADDRESS OF THE ECONOMY DEPICTS INEPTITUDE
A continual repetition of same methods continually gives the same outcome. Her potential endowment in both national and human resources has been made unrealisable in terms of greatness due to the ineptitude on the path of government. How else would you justify the culture of squander mania that has become the norm of the government since post-independence, apart from corruption that her administrator indulges in, her account of outright wasteful spending on the international scene is plausible proof? It is always and has always been the manner the past administrators flex muscle to re-enact the illusion of her (Nigeria) being the giant of Africa.
Grants to the Angolan authorities by the government of Muritala Mohammed to the tune of $20m lends credence to my assertion even when the country was yet to take her rightful domestic policies authenticated. South African relief fund for the credit political support of anti-apartheid standing to the credit of more than $20 million never brought about any economic development to the country. Her peace keeping troops deployed to various trouble spot in Africa were of gallantry and self-assertion with even little or no respect for Nigeria.
This not only coughed substantial doles from her exchequer, it innocuously plunged her to insolvency with no economic gains. Nigeria with her past attitude of noblesse oblige is even more hated, loathed by allies she helped way back. She is accorded no deference but stack opprobrium. This policy of squander mania unfortunately is yet to be addressed by the current president of Nigerian with his acquisition of ten jets in his presidential fleet. While we talk of high unemployment rate and infrastructural decay, approval for the new N2.2bn banquet hall in the presidential villa was granted by the Federal Executive Council.This travesty of priority exudes the placement of inconsequentiality over national importance.
Nigeria, which we know and are aware of, gains nothing at international meetings. Rather other world leader would strike bargains for economic trade knowing full well her penchant for importation due to her comatose manufacturing sector.Our President well abreast of this, still attends those kinds of international meetings or foura with high level delegates costing a hell on tax payers’ money. President and his cabinet are all tarred with the same brush of squandermania as exemplified with a minister of petroleum decision to spend N6.5billion for sensitization on the petroleum industry bill.
With profligacy showcasing high sense of ineptitude, its joint accord with absence of strong/viable institutions to checkmate waste has been a complementary reason for such ineptitude. It is almost incredulous so to speak that half a trillion dollars has been siphoned from public treasury to unscrupulous business icons since its exploration.One can only ponder on the perceived development it would have had on the Nigerian people had this sum of money been spent on for economic transformation.
All worrying and abhorring is the astronomical increase in emoluments of political office holders. It has been proven that an average Nigeria parliamentarian receives more pay than his America counterpart notwithstanding the level of development in American and that the American counterpart outstands his Nigerian counterpart (he achieves more with less while his Nigerian counterpart realizes less with more).These outrageous emoluments/salaries/entitlement have nothing to do with service delivery but a share waste of public money. Most of Nigeria revenue has always been to whet the appetite of her political office holder while leaving modicum for developmental process.This issue of outright profligacy and lack of strong institutions to checkmate financial recklessness further corroborates the woes of Nigerian being economically subservient to the west. This high degree of profligacy has caused tension in the polity and increased incidents of violence and killings. Everyone wants to get into a political office to enjoy the appurtenances and frippies of office by hook and cook. Records of electoral violence and post-election violence are a pointer to this.In all major elections held in Nigeria, the incumbent political parties possess an unfair advantage over other parties by the use of state resources attached to their offices in support of their campaigns. The resources in most cases are to cow, intimidate and subdue their opponent thereby making the election incredible.Elections are not won on the basis of robust debates, lofty ideals or plausible ratiocinations; they are won on the amount of money you spend on electioneering, recruitment of thugs and subversion of electoral norms. These are the progeny of profligacy and lack of viable institution.
Man likes doing things with impunity. He loves to enjoy laxity and latitude to the fullest. He hates being checkmated or regulated. That accounts for the principle of lassie faire, individualism and deregulation practiced at the west. Unfortunately politicians in nation love subversion of democratic norms, infraction of law and disobedience to stipulated guidelines. All these would have been minimized/brought to its kneeling had there been strong institutions to curtain this hyper-headed monster.
As it has been rightly pointed out that the west would hold it no duty in developing or helping her on the path of development. She (the west) would only forage areas open to exploitation for her continual hegemony over Nigeria. Nigeria was hit by the global economic crisis not because of her global integration with the world economy par se but because of her economic dependence on the west. With consumer price commodity soaring high, her ineluctable dependence for massive importation further improvised her citizenship that were doing no good before the onset of the economic meltdown.
Conclusively when profligacy reigns in an economy, then development bears the brunt. If there are no mechanics in place for such curtailment or oversight, it is further compounded with impunity as there isn’t any punishment for erring defaulters. With a bad economic policy of utter dependence in terms of consumables, that singularly sells your sovereignty for economic servitude and subservience constantly depending and affected by prices at international market. This is sheer ineptitude on the part of political holder of a country that goes through this economic malaise. Nigerian being case study.
