A socio-economic policy analyst based in Lagos, Bayo Sokunle, bares his mind with IMOLEAYO OYEDEYI on the current Nigeria’s economic downturn and the role both the present and immediate past government of the country has played in it.
NIGERIA’S situation has worsened since President Bola Tinubu took over. But the government has persistently blamed the terrible situation of the country on his predecessor, General Muhammadu Buhari’s mishandling of the economy. But how true can this be?
The rots are obvious to be seen by all. The economy was put in a total mess by those he (Buhari) trusted to manage the affairs. There was an unprecedented corruption in the system, particularly in the forex management by the apex bank. We were subsidising greed in the name of strengthening the naira, printing money without productive value to back it up, and pushing large volumes into the society in the name of government interventions whereby more money chased fewer goods, services and foreign exchange. The result is high inflation. On the other hand, terrorism was decimated to a very large extent during the last administration, but it was replaced by kidnapping and banditry. PMB was able to curb Boko Haram in the North-East region but he could not control the high rate of bandit attacks in North-West and North-Central regions. These are critical issues or problems inherited by President Bola Tinubu. The huge debts of foreign and local creditors cannot be overemphasised.
So are you saying the former administration is solely responsible for Nigeria’s current economic woes?
Yes and No. As I mentioned above, PMB’s mismanagement of the economy birthed the present predicament, but it could also be attributed to the wasted 16 years of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government, which could not lay a solid economic structure for the country despite the huge revenue obtained through sales of crude oil at close to 100 dollars per barrel and of course the failure to remove the subsidy from PMS, after all AGO and kerosene were not subsidised a long time ago. Many of today’s challenges cannot be disconnected from the failure of past leaders, who could not diversify our economy, and invest in agriculture and education, health and infrastructure to name a few. Unchecked corruption at all levels brought us to this mess.
But don’t you think the current government contributed to the present situations, given how some of its major economic policies have negatively played out for the country?
It is quite unfortunate for the Tinubu’s government to meet this mess now. The policies are very hard on the people, no doubt about it. It is the corrective surgical means to solve the problem. Had it been our refineries are working optimally and insecurity with climate change are not affecting our farmers to grow food for local consumption and exports, the pains and suffering could have been minimal. We shouldn’t lose total hope in the recovery of our economy being driven by the government. All hands must be on deck to salvage Nigeria, because we have no other place to call our homes. Let the sacrifice percolate from the top to the bottom. The leaders and the followers should bear the burden of nation building and not the masses alone. It is quite hard on the majority of the masses. Let our political elite demonstrate good leadership skills by showing empathy to the downtrodden by giving back to them. Nobody should be seen to live extravagant life among our politicians during this difficult time, my opinion.
To change the country’s fortune, the present administration has carried out a series of measures, but how far do you think they can go in addressing the existing challenges, especially as regards naira devaluation and inflation?
As generally observed in any policy, there will be gestation period, maturation period and expiration period. The phases must be completed before we can begin to enjoy the benefits. I pray the duration should be shortened and the benefits should quickly begin to manifest. I believe strongly in the leadership capacity of Mr President. He is a focused leader and very knowledgeable in financial engineering. He will place Nigeria on the path of prosperity quicker than we expected provided all of us join hands together to lift Nigeria up. Let us put aside ethnicity, religion and political affiliations to pursue national growth and development. Mr President from his antecedent performance in Lagos State, a mini Nigeria, can replicate it at the national level. He can be advised as well by experts to help him navigate through the difficult times.
But some observers have argued that both the Buhari and Tinubu’s government are produced by the same political party for Nigeria. Do you think it is ideal for the current government to exonerate itself from the failures of its predecessor?
No two governments are the same, though they may be from the same political party. I could remember the last day of the PDP/Obasanjo’s government where Baba privatized our refineries and raised the pump price to N70 per liter. If my memory serves me well, the late President Yar’Adua reversed the sales of the refineries and reduced the pump price to N65. Every leader has his style and skills, so politically it is right to say Tinubu should bear the PMB liabilities since they are both in same political party and government is a continum. Both asset and liability belong to the government taking over from the outgoing one. I think that is way it is. But you must not forget that President Tinubu is not the same as former President Buhari.
