Nigeria: Wake Up, Sleeping Giant!

By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye

Tomorrow, May 29, 2020, is what used to be referred to in Nigeria as “Democracy Day,” but now it will only serve as the anniversary of President Muhammadu Buhari's regime and that of some state governors. It is usually a welcome excuse for great celebrations, chest-beating and wild claims about humongous achievements, many of which exist only in the imagination of the mostly failed leaders. 

*Nigeria Leaders: Jonathan, Obasanjo, Buhari

Even the term “Democracy Day” (which is now observed on June 12) is such an excruciating irony in a country where almost all the features that distinguish democratic societies have been brutally obliterated, leaving the populace continually trapped in destabilizing apprehension. 

There would, however, be no parties tomorrow. A hostile, dreaded   visitor called Coronavirus is town! Let’s hope, therefore, that the absence of bacchanals tomorrow will afford our leaders the conducive   atmosphere for deep, sober reflections, to determine whether they have merely added to the suffering and pain of the people or helped, even in some little way, to reduce them.             

If Nigeria is working, we will know! Those were the exact words of late Prof Chinua Achebe, Africa’s foremost writer and distinguished intellectual. In other words, the citizens do not need any bogus claims by government’s megaphones to realise that there is an improvement in their country’s economy because it will automatically translate to an enhancement in their lives.

Henry Boyo, Renowned Economist, Dies

Dr. Henry Boyo, renowned economist and public intellectual, is dead. He died in London on Monday, November 18. He was 72.

Dr. Boyo was the Managing Director of Cocosheen Nigeria Limited, Lagos. 

He has written extensively on the Nigerian economy in his syndicated columns which appear in several national newspapers, like Daily Independent, Punch, Vanguard, etc.  

Nigeria: A Nation Without Leaders

By Anthony Cardinal Okogie  
When a nation is in turmoil, those who have faith in God must pray. Given clear indices that Nigeria is in turmoil, we pray: Gracious God, grant that our leaders become wise, and the wise become our leaders. But it would be irresponsible fideism to simply pray and fold our arms. Those who pray must think, and, having sought and obtained answers to right questions, they must act intelligently.

*Cardinal Okogie 

As Nigeria passes from one turbulent season to another, it has become inescapable to inquire: what is the quality of leaders—of the men and women at the helm of affairs—in our beloved Nigeria? Can it be said that those at the helm of affairs—at federal, state, and local levels of government—are sufficiently competent to navigate the ship of state? Do our leaders fit the bill?

The high level of insecurity in our land; the abysmally low quality of life of the average Nigerian, in scandalously sharp contrast with the opulence in which past and political office holders live; the self-serving and malevolent demagoguery that accompanies unitarist, secessionist, and xenophobic agitations in our country; the propagation of the stubborn myth that one’s ethnic community is marginalised by all other ethnic communities, when in fact every ethnic community is marginalised by the incompetence of our leaders; the acceptance of this myth by young, discontented but gullible Nigerians: these and many other indices offer little or no hope to even the most incurable optimist in the land. 

What Does The President Carry In His Pocket?

By Banji Ojewale

There is this apocryphal tale that the president of the United States of America, said to be our planet’s most powerful country, travels carrying a bag that holds the key to war and peace in the world. It is claimed that the briefcase contains the code the US leader may unravel to release the huge atomic arsenal of God’s Own Country in the event of an attack.

*President Buhari

If he’s away from the US and he’s briefed on his hotline, all he does to enable a lethal hit-back is to go for the bag and probably a key in his pocket. But if he wants peace, he simply allows his pocket be at peace.

Early in 2016 however, sitting President Barack Obama spiked this story of one man playing  God, one man who upon a cryptic call thousands of kilometres from Washington, can decide the fate of billions of souls worldwide, can trigger a contest to destroy mankind. He told a YouTube interviewer that all he holds in the trousers pocket are harmless mementoes, none approximating a nuclear lock.

The gay broadcaster Ingrid Nilsen fired the question that laid all bare: what does President Obama carry in his pocket? The US leader dug into his right trouser pocket and out came an assortment of keepsakes: a rosary given to him by Pope Francis, a tiny Buddha, a metal poker chip he said he got from ‘a bald biker with weird mustache’ in 2007,a Coptic Cross from Ethiopia and a Hindu statuette of monkey god.

A strange collection for a head of state to carry! But he says when he feels tired or discouraged as he battles American and global headaches he reaches into the pocket for relief and mental refreshment. According to Obama, they inspire him and help him “get back to work”.

Now after thrilling myself with Obama’s revelation and observing the travels of our own President Muhammadu Buhari, I have begun to wonder what the Nigerian leader also takes along in the trousers under his flowing agbada. Surely Buhari, the leader of the world’s most populous black nation, would have run into numerous people and well-wishers who would deposit some gifts with him after each encounter.

Mr. President, It Is About The Economy, Not Corruption!

By Ayodele Adio

I felt a bit miffed at the president’s Eid-el-fitr message not because it lacked compassion or empathy but because it lacked a departure from his strongly held minimalist view of our daily reality. In all sincerity, I have made a solemn promise not to throw empty criticism at Mr. President and only lend my voice to matters in which common sense is clearly shrugged away to accommodate political vacuity.

The message read thus: “I am not unaware of what Nigerians are going through and I want to use this medium to commend the amazing sacrifices of Nigerians in the face of temporary economic and social challenges and also reassure Nigerians that my government is working assiduously towards providing basic needs and other amenities. Let me also use this opportunity to reaffirm that we will not relent in the fight against corruption and we will ensure that all appropriate and legal measures are deployed to root out this malaise”.

Perhaps the words of O Henry, Love and business and family and religion and art and patriotism are nothing but shadows of words when a man is starving, underpins the very premise of my argument. Again, Nigerians are being congratulated for their sacrifices in difficult times, what needs to be asked though, is if such burdens will climax with better days. In any case, as for me and my house, we will remain skeptics until proven otherwise by the government of the day.

Of more concern, however, is the fixation of Mr. President on the fight against corruption. Without a doubt, corruption is a must kill but I also share the concern of Hon. Yakubu Dogara, that convictions have hardly been made even in the sight of overwhelming evidence of the culprits admittance and willingness to return stolen funds. Neither the president nor his towering integrity can prosecute any war against corruption; he has no choice than to rely on the institutions saddled with such statutory obligation. The best the president can do is to empower such institutions and let the chain off the neck of the proverbial dog.

It is not enough to make public declarations that merely romanticises the populace and whips sentiments but rather a case of putting your money where your mouth is. The president will be guilty of living in the clouds if he thinks that he can champion a successful fight against corruption without a reform of the Police Force, the judiciary and a healthy working relationship with the legislature to pass into law the propositions of the executive.

Hence, a continuous focus on a fight technically outside the arena of the president will be simply straining at a gnat and ignoring a whole camel, a typical case of Nero fiddling while Rome burns. Someone needs to remind Mr. President that it’s about the economy, about job creation and an improved livelihood, nothing else at this junction matters. I quite agree with Olatunji Ololade in his Friday’s column in The Nation newspaper, when he said: “Buhari seeks to eradicate diseased plants from the nation’s fields of enterprise even as he sows sickly seeds under the roof of the Nigerian barn house”. 

One of the greatest economists of the 18th and 19th century, John Maynard Keynes argues that in a recession of significant magnitude, it is necessary for the government to intervene and actively stimulate the economy. He was famous for recommending that the government should pay people to dig holes in the ground and fill them up because it doesn’t matter what they do as long as the government is creating jobs.

Quite frankly I understand the president’s fascination, if not obsession with corruption and never will I doubt his sincere passion for a nation he fought and bled for but he must come to terms with the fact that strong nations are not built on the integrity of an individual, even if that individual is the president, but on a continuous investment in the people in whom the government derives its authority from. I therefore urge the president to maintain his stance on corruption but give a closer attention to the economy. Mr. President also needs to remember that economic deprivation, stagnation or exclusion will ultimately lead to social and political catastrophe, the very demon he is fighting very hard to expel. 
*Mr. Ayodele Adio, a social critic, wrote from Lagos.

Remove Subsidies And Redirect Cash Into Needful Investments

"It Makes More Sense To Remove Subsidies And Redirect Cash Into Investments That Go Directly To Those Who Need It Most"

By Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Globally, government support for fossil-fuel subsidies will amount to almost $650bn this year. The cost of these subsidies far outweighs the benefits and burdens the middle classes. Reforming the system can make energy infrastructure more efficient, shore up public finances and allow more targeted spending on public services.

The idea is not a new one. In 2009, the G20 countries and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum committed themselves to cutting inefficient subsidies but progress has been limited. But in the context of the decline in oil prices, which benefits consumers, we have a golden opportunity to deliver reform.

About 30 countries, including my own, Nigeria, have already made efforts to phase out fossil-fuel subsidies. In spite of the difficulties, it is well worth the effort.

In 2012 in Nigeria we reformed petrol subsidies. Conscious that the public might be concerned, we ran an information campaign to explain how the savings would be used to help everyone. Political pressure, however, led to the policy being introduced earlier than planned and, as a result, the changes came as a shock to many. This led to protests and the reform had to be partially rolled back.

Despite this, we were right to act. Even phasing out half of the subsidies was a substantial achievement. Some $13bn worth of petrol subsidies, including many fraudulent claims, had burdened the national budget, and we were able to redirect some of those funds. Within a year, our programme to reinvest the savings meant we could finish the renovation of a north-south national railway, as well as introduce improved maternal and childcare services in 500 primary healthcare centres.

Using lessons learnt from Nigeria and other countries we can put together a set of best practices to follow. These include co-coordinated communication, implementation and redistribution efforts. Reform should also create a broad sense of political ownership, especially in fiscally decentralised countries.

One of the most common concerns about removing subsidies is that it will hurt the poor. But in reality the subsidies benefit high-income populations and industry much more than low-income households.

The International Monetary Fund has estimated that more than 40 per cent of fuel price subsidies in developing countries accrue to the richest 20 per cent of households, while 7 per cent of the benefits go to the poorest 20 per cent.

It makes more sense to remove subsidies and redirect cash into investments that go directly to those who need it most. That was the aim of Nigeria’s programme and it is being tried elsewhere. In Germany and Poland, for example, coal subsidy reforms were supported by cash assistance for workers affected by mine closures.

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