Government and economy ratings agencies

In the report, Fitch placed BB- and BB ratings on Nigeria’s long-term foreign and local currency International Drawing Rights (IDRs) and senior unsecured bond respectively, stating that the country’s outlook was ‘stable’.Similar ratings of the Nigerian economy were done by other agencies like Standard & Poor’s (S&P), Moody’s, and TE. The president’s Senior Special Assistant […]

In the report, Fitch placed BB- and BB ratings on Nigeria’s long-term foreign and local currency International Drawing Rights (IDRs) and senior unsecured bond respectively, stating that the country’s outlook was ‘stable’.
Similar ratings of the Nigerian economy were done by other agencies like Standard & Poor’s (S&P), Moody’s, and TE. The president’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Dr Doyin Okupe, observed that such reports attested to the ‘success story of the president’s transformation agenda’.
Okupe said that Fitch’s rating was acknowledgement of the ‘robustness of the federal government’s fiscal policies, which have among others, ensured that inflation rate has declined to 8 percent, the lowest in five years, as well as ensured that Nigeria successfully avoided “exogenous shocks” which could have occurred as a result of severe flood in 2012 and various security challenges occasioned by insurgents activities in some parts on the North’.
As is typical with spokespersons of the government, clutching at everything, no matter how tenuous, that appears to confirm its policy thrusts and programmes, has become an abiding pastime. Of course, any positive label on government activities would be an advantage to the country, because it would send out the right message to potential investors that may be hesitating in making up their mind about whether to put their money in the Nigerian economy.
But the positive spin, such as Dr Okupe’s which focused on the government’s macroeconomic policies, ignored the much more significant microeconomic parameters that affect the daily lives of the vast majority of the people. It is all very well, and may give government officials some comfort, that projects such as the power sector reforms and statistics of inflationary trends are cited as examples of the government’s keeping faith with its duty to provide services for the good of the people and stability of the country’s economy.
But to what extent have benefits from such projects trickled down to communities in the hinterland is a question that officials are wont to fudging answers to. For years, the government said it recognized the importance of steady power supply in the country to aid in jump-starting many players in the economy, particularly small scale businesses that can generate employment.
The power sector reforms, aimed at giving teeth to that recognition, have been implements in fits and starts with several due dates for their completion stated and shifted. The new date is now 2014, when the country would begin to ‘enjoy’ the fruits of its reforms in the power sector.
There is no doubt that security issues in some parts the country dominated public discourse and focused the attention of Nigerians and the government in the last three years; but to suggest them as some of the factors that mediated the government’s responsibility to the people in other sectors, as Dr Okupe did in his statement, is simply disingenuous.
The government is certainly making a big deal out of the transformation agenda set by President Jonathan, and no one denies the passion with which this is being implemented. Those who should give legitimacy to the effects of it implementation are the people at which it is targeted, Nigerians.
Not many of them, unfortunately, feel the impact of the transformation agenda. How many local jobs have the government’s economic activities created since it took office, for instance?  How many more towns and villages have been connected to the national grid? These may come, perhaps in the not too distant future; 2014 may be, as the government has pledged. But until that happens, many would feel short-changed that this administration’s policies are geared towards attracting positive reviews from agencies and the applause of governments of other countries that benefit from the Nigerian government’s economic policies and programmes.