Is ban on imports another reason to japa?

There is an adage that if you give a blind man a gun and enough bullets he will eventually hit the target! It beggars belief that it took almost two years for the Tinubu administration to announce a ban on imported goods which can be made locally, which they could have taken on day one! […]

There is an adage that if you give a blind man a gun and enough bullets he will eventually hit the target! It beggars belief that it took almost two years for the Tinubu administration to announce a ban on imported goods which can be made locally, which they could have taken on day one! Only after, callously purchasing luxury imported vehicles for the President, Vice-President, Senate President, members of the National Assembly and ministers did it occur to them that they are routinely squandering scarce funds on luxury imports for themselves to enjoy at public expense.

If the ban is indeed a well-thought-out policy rather than the simple knee-jerk reaction to economic downturn it appears to be, then things would have and should have been done better. Quite inexplicably, after two years in office, the Attorney-General of the Federation has been tasked with belatedly preparing an Executive Order which will provide legal backing and give flesh to the policy statement.

It will be interesting to see whether the ban includes political office holders patronising foreign “experts” who know far less than qualified Nigerians but are employed in order to provide opportunities for overseas junketing and payments in foreign currencies.

If careful thought had been put in place there should have been a detailed list of banned goods and services, an explanation of the method for enforcing the ban, and the penalties for non-compliance. Will it be the seller or the buyer who commits an offence? If people travel overseas and buy banned things for their personal use not for sale have they committed an offence? There is justifiable fear that the ban will only lead to increased hardships among common Nigerians, and justifiable skepticism that ban waivers, which can be obtained in secret from the Bureau of Public Procurement, will give room for the sort of manipulation and corruption that government agencies are legendary for.

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In spite of their much self-touted patriotism, our top political office holders do not purchase locally made luxury goods, do not patronise government’s local health facilities, and do not send their children to schools in Nigeria.  Although the ban sounds in theory, in all truthfulness the situation in the country now doesn’t support the growth of local production. There are distinct advantages of importing foreign goods relating to their higher standard, the unavailability of specialised technology, economies of scale favouring importation and critical nature of some products.

Also, government has not explained why any Nigerian who has made his money in an honest corruption free method should be denied access to whatever goods and services he wants in this world simply because he chooses to live his life in his own country rather than Japa (escape overseas).

In all the superficial praise of the ban there has been no mention of how local productivity will be increased when kidnapping and insecurity, power outages, falling value of Naira and poorly skilled labour force have created an inclement business environment which has led to so many companies quitting business and exiting Nigeria.

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar claims that the “Nigeria First” mantra is simply another tired public relations stunt designed to deceive rather than deliver. He says Nigerians do not need policy statements, rather they need roads that are motorable, electric power that is constant, a minimum wage that can buy a minimum dignity, hospitals that actually save lives, and schools that truly educate.

Atiku cynically said that those paid from the public purse in the Presidency, National Assembly and Federal Executive Council (FEC), who shamelessly ride monumentally expensive foreign-made SUV’s while in public service, should trade them in for a locally made SUV rather than living in a manner which suggests that suffering is meant only for the public and not for those paid from the public purse! Indeed, as a columnist in the Independent Newspaper aptly pointed out, the addiction of public officials to foreign luxuries while demanding sacrifice from suffering Nigerians is the height of insincerity.

Nigerians are becoming increasingly disillusioned with democracy which has evolved into the survival of the political class at the expense of the public and translated “Renewed Hope” into renewed hardship, renewed hunger and renewed hopelessness!

As for implementing the ban, the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) failure to secure our porous land borders coupled with their penchant for paramilitary operations against the public will most likely lead to few banned goods being seized at seaports, airports or land borders. Rather, they will endlessly stop vehicles on highways, purportedly searching for banned goods, and enter markets to seize banned goods from traders.

Although the ban is theoretically a good idea, it is neither the time nor place. No doubt patronising locally-made goods should create jobs, and ensure economic diversification, but there is no reason to deny Nigerians the best things in life when locally produced goods are substandard if not fake.

Between the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) a lot more work needs to be done. The end result of the ban may just be that honest, patriotic Nigerians who deservedly want to enjoy the best things in life will have to live outside the country in order to do so!