With financial discipline and decency in government, Nigeria will wade through the economic woes
Given the dire economic predicament of Nigeria with the fall in the price of crude oil, the recent visit of the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ms. Christine Lagarde, expectedly received more than cursory attention from critical stakeholders within our country. But the four-day sojourn of the IMF boss to the largest economy in Africa can hardly be seen in the light of providing any way forward for the country.
Given the dire economic predicament of Nigeria with the fall in the price of crude oil, the recent visit of the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ms. Christine Lagarde, expectedly received more than cursory attention from critical stakeholders within our country. But the four-day sojourn of the IMF boss to the largest economy in Africa can hardly be seen in the light of providing any way forward for the country.
Aside telling Nigerians nothing exceptionally new, even the prescription on the removal of subsidy in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry which most of our nationals already consider a sensible thing to do in the circumstance, is being viewed with suspicion given the reputation of the IMF on the continent.
Notorious for having recommended to Nigeria’s military regime of the late '80s the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), measures which introduced novel hardship on Nigerians but failed to revamp the economy, the IMF prescription that subsidy be removed even from education has drawn the ire of many Nigerians and may not go down well with a government which has already promised to recruit 500,000 teachers this year.
That the economic crisis occasioned by the fall of oil price is already having choking effect on the life of the average Nigerian is a statement of fact. Yet we have nobody to blame but ourselves for the choices that have landed us in the situation we are in today. Indeed, IMF is right on the point on fuel subsidy removal as we have repeatedly argued on this page. The rampant cases of fraud which have characterised its implementation in recent years as well as the dip in the price of the products in the global market have made it inadvertently imperative to do away with the subsidy regime. But the same argument cannot be made for education, especially given the collapse of the social sector in our country today.
While we agree that Nigeria does not necessarily need IMF loans to survive, as attested to by Lagarde herself, we believe that a good measure of fiscal discipline in handling our finances, including plugging leakages in the system, is important. At the end of the day, it is our responsibility, and not that of the IMF, to rescue our country from the economic miasma we are presently in.
“At the global level, it is estimated that the cost of corruption is equivalent to more than five per cent of world GDP, with over US$ 1 trillion paid in bribes each year,” Largarde said abut the challenge of accountability and transparency in our country. It is therefore gratifying that the Buhari administration has intensified the war against corruption in the country, just as attention is being shifted from the oil-governed economy to a diversified one where the agricultural and solid mineral sectors hold great potential for rejuvenating the nation’s economy.
It is remarkable that a few countries like China and even Malaysia which have dared to ignore the recommendations of the IMF are waxing stronger in their economies, just as those which have absorbed hook, line and sinker the recommendations of the IMF, like Thailand, Indonesia, Phillipines, etc., have continued to wallow deeper and deeper in economic woes.
“So, Nigeria faces some tough choices going forward. Nigerians, however, are well known for their resilience and strong belief in their ability to improve their nation and lead others by example. I firmly believe that Nigeria will rise to the challenge and make the decisions that will propel the country to greater prosperity,” said Lagarde whose visit and its concomitant import need to be sifted so that the proverbial bath water and the baby are not thrown away together.
Notorious for having recommended to Nigeria’s military regime of the late '80s the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), measures which introduced novel hardship on Nigerians but failed to revamp the economy, the IMF prescription that subsidy be removed even from education has drawn the ire of many Nigerians and may not go down well with a government which has already promised to recruit 500,000 teachers this year.
That the economic crisis occasioned by the fall of oil price is already having choking effect on the life of the average Nigerian is a statement of fact. Yet we have nobody to blame but ourselves for the choices that have landed us in the situation we are in today. Indeed, IMF is right on the point on fuel subsidy removal as we have repeatedly argued on this page. The rampant cases of fraud which have characterised its implementation in recent years as well as the dip in the price of the products in the global market have made it inadvertently imperative to do away with the subsidy regime. But the same argument cannot be made for education, especially given the collapse of the social sector in our country today.
While we agree that Nigeria does not necessarily need IMF loans to survive, as attested to by Lagarde herself, we believe that a good measure of fiscal discipline in handling our finances, including plugging leakages in the system, is important. At the end of the day, it is our responsibility, and not that of the IMF, to rescue our country from the economic miasma we are presently in.
“At the global level, it is estimated that the cost of corruption is equivalent to more than five per cent of world GDP, with over US$ 1 trillion paid in bribes each year,” Largarde said abut the challenge of accountability and transparency in our country. It is therefore gratifying that the Buhari administration has intensified the war against corruption in the country, just as attention is being shifted from the oil-governed economy to a diversified one where the agricultural and solid mineral sectors hold great potential for rejuvenating the nation’s economy.
It is remarkable that a few countries like China and even Malaysia which have dared to ignore the recommendations of the IMF are waxing stronger in their economies, just as those which have absorbed hook, line and sinker the recommendations of the IMF, like Thailand, Indonesia, Phillipines, etc., have continued to wallow deeper and deeper in economic woes.
“So, Nigeria faces some tough choices going forward. Nigerians, however, are well known for their resilience and strong belief in their ability to improve their nation and lead others by example. I firmly believe that Nigeria will rise to the challenge and make the decisions that will propel the country to greater prosperity,” said Lagarde whose visit and its concomitant import need to be sifted so that the proverbial bath water and the baby are not thrown away together.
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