Eminent Nigerians warn the president over our rapidly receding economy
Emir of Kano Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, Anthony Cardinal Okogie … they do not come any grander in any one country, and when they raise their voices on an issue, then government had better listen. Economists, columnists and analysts have also been expressing concerns about the state of the nation and President Muhammadu Buhari’s approach to managing the polity.
But the calls gained momentum and added stridency in the last two weeks when the afore-named grandees weighed in more audaciously, setting the polity abuzz.
Former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and currently Emir of the ancient kingdom of Kano, Alhaji Sanusi Lamido Sanusi led the pack. He pulled no punches in addressing President Buhari concerning the dire consequences that awaited him if he did not retrace his steps. Indeed, he warned that the sitting president risked failing and falling like his immediate past predecessor if he did not change some of his policies.
“We should not just keep blaming the previous administration; we also made some mistakes in the current administration.
“They must retrace their steps. They have to retrace those steps all the way. We should not fall into the same trap we fell the last time when the government was always right.”
In a nutshell, Sanusi charges the government to hone its budget and planning arm so it can think for the government. He suggests that the country needs to pursue policies that would attract investment. The government must allow the currency to float and eschew a rent economy that allows influential people like him to make stupendous gains by making mere telephone calls from the comfort of their palaces.
Speaking a day after Emir Sanusi, another former governor of the CBN, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo raised the alarm that the economy was in deep trouble. He stated that inflation was galloping while Gross Domestic Product index was falling sharply. According to him, GDP has compressed by 50 percent; per capita income too has also dropped from $3,100 to $1,500.
Soludo recommended a restructuring of the economy from consumption driven to production-based and consistency in micro-economic policies.
“Nigeria is facing unprecedented and tremendous political and economical challenges with global and local dynamics. Regardless of these challenges, opportunities and possibilities abound if we address some fundamental issues. The key to achieving this is to have a developmental plan that is anchored on realising inclusive and sustainable growth.
“Encouraging fiscal federalism in ways that allow states to have greater control of their resources, evolution of a master plan for mass export-oriented industrialisation that answers the economic questions and realities of today.”
For the Emeritus Archbishop of Lagos, Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie, it required a plaintive open letter to the president to call his attention to the ills ravaging the citizenry. “Nigerians are hungry,” he seemed to have screamed.
He says: “Today, cries of hunger could be heard across the length and breadth of our vast country. Nigerians hunger not only for food, but also for good leadership, for peace, security and justice.
“This letter is to appeal to you to do something fast, and, if you are already doing something, to redouble your effort. May it not be written on the pages of history that Nigerians die of starvation under your watch.
“As president, you are the chief servant of the nation. I therefore urge you to live up to the huge expectations of millions of Nigerians. A stitch in time saves nine.”
The revered clergy urged the president to retool his administration. He admonished him to take another look at his cabinet, his policies and programmes. He raised eyebrows over the manner of appointments and noted that Nigeria’s economy has never been in such dire straits as it is today.
When personages as quoted above begin to speak up in exasperation and even anger, the sitting government must recognise that something is truly amiss. Government must therefore initiate urgent measures to remedy the situation.
It is remarkable that a day after Prof. Soludo raised the alarm over the state of the economy, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, told the nation that the economy is indeed in recession. She confirmed all the gloomy indices that Soludo had highlighted, further setting the nation on edge.
We aver that economic recession can come upon even the most developed of nations but the difference often is the know-how and resolute reassurances on how to exit the stormy weather. We dare say that we are not reassured by the responses of the finance minister.
To admit it is the worst possible time in the history of our nation and to follow it up with a bland, “We must make sure we diversify our economy” hardly brings cheer to the populace. We ask that the economic team be fortified and it must urgently present the nation with a clear plan of action.
This is our very minimum expectation. And the time is now
