Let’s plan properly first then borrow later!

When President Muhamad Buhari (PMB) confessed to the Executive Course 38 participants at the National Institute of Policy and Strategic studies that he never prepared himself to confront the current level of economic challenges facing the nation, he was only stating the obvious. He and his economic management team are quite evidently overwhelmed by the […]

When President Muhamad Buhari (PMB) confessed to the Executive Course 38 participants at the National Institute of Policy and Strategic studies that he never prepared himself to confront the current level of economic challenges facing the nation, he was only stating the obvious. He and his economic management team are quite evidently overwhelmed by the task, and their proposed solutions to our problems are not only over-simplified but also show little creativity or depth of thought.  They have now decided that borrowing the astronomical sum of $39 Billion is the only solution to our economic predicament. Several times before Government has placed the nation into massive debt and not once has it ever solved our problems or benefitted the ordinary Nigerian. Albert Einstein said that the first sign of madness is trying the same thing over and over again and expecting new results. PMB must understand that no one is ever elected to preside over an economic boom and massive borrowing isn’t the only possible response to scarcity.
The real reason our economy can’t recover is because most of our Ministers aren’t fit for their job. They were appointed for political reasons rather than any innate ability to think outside the box and propose creative innovative solutions. Our current problems represent a unique opportunity to remould the nation’s politics, economics, and society, yet no serious effort has been made to mobilize or train the populace for national development. As far as government is concerned, after the loan is secured South African, Chinese, Indian, Lebanese, German and British nationals will come to take the money away in the form of contracts that require “overseas technical partners”. It’s evident that there is no well thought out economic blueprint and therefore no justification for borrowing such a humongous amount in a desperation which has little hope of reversing the failures of the nation. PMB wants to take a loan with a moratorium of eight years meaning in effect that even if he spends two terms in office, he will not be saddled with the burden of repaying the money.  It’s immoral for this government to mortgage the future of those to whom the future belongs.
Many self-acclaimed “economic experts” obsessed with western economic theories support the gargantuan loan and claim quite insultingly that opponents of the idea “lack understanding”. While they see no alternative strategy to borrowing, those they refer to as “less intelligent” see solutions in reducing our over-bloated government vis-à-vis: a unicameral part-time legislature; dispensing with the legions of full time Special Advisers and Senior Special Assistants; reducing the paraphernalia surrounding Governors; minimizing the expensive unnecessary movements of the Presidency; and involving the citizenry in infrastructure maintenance activities; as well as reducing taxation to stimulate spending; re-training the citizenry to participate in modern industry, and reforming the banking sector to reducing interest rates and stimulate the private sector. It comes as no surprise that the National Assembly agrees to the loan rather than alternatives which involves them making sacrifice. They have no fundamental objection to the idea of borrowing money to finance the profligate life styles of themselves their contractors. A high percentage of the money is likely to go in corruption, mismanagement and inefficiency. The likelihood is that the loan will be spent in such a way that the money enters the system, is cornered by the usual contractors then eventually taken out of the economy.
The truth is that all the institutions set up to monitor and control public expenditure are corrupted or non-functional, and without reforming them these funds cannot be managed competently. Presently there are scores of abandoned projects littering our landscape and all of them conceptualized by leaders who “meant well” and borrowed money. While PMB continues to urge Nigerians to keep hope alive and pray for his administration there is increasingly little reason to have faith in a government that has failed to make discernible impact in two years. Late Indian Prime Minister Indira Ghandi warned other leaders to be wary of Ministers who can do nothing without money. It’s evident that the Federal Executive Council comprises people who lack the creativity, charisma and competence to transform the nation.
The Economic Management Team’s incompetence was once again highlighted by their failure to make a proper presentation to the Senate. Its increasingly apparent that the intelligent ones are outside government not inside. Other than the infantile “change begins with me” sloganeering, there has been no discernible effort to articulate where the nation is heading to; sensitize the people on a national plan; and build confidence in that direction. There has been a failure of communication simply because there is no well thought out plan to communicate! There is an adage that when spitting in the wind make sure you face backwards otherwise your spittle may fly back into your face. Government is ignoring this advice to our peril by intending to borrow first and then plan properly later.