National Economic Conference

A National Economic Conference to address urgent economic issues facing the country is expected to hold soon. The idea of convening the conference stemmed from the National Economic Council’s 65th meeting in January. Participants at the conference will include only government officials at the federal and state levels with some private sector operators. Holding a […]

A National Economic Conference to address urgent economic issues facing the country is expected to hold soon. The idea of convening the conference stemmed from the National Economic Council’s 65th meeting in January. Participants at the conference will include only government officials at the federal and state levels with some private sector operators.
Holding a national economic talk shop at this time, to find a way out of mounting national economic problems is welcome and should be supported by well meaning Nigerians who have the interest of the country at heart. We however hope the government will properly organize the conference by enlarging it to include major stakeholders such as economic experts, industrialists, manufacturers, entrepreneurs and trade unions. Not only will more ideas be generated but everyone’s helping hand will also be required at the implementation stage.
The proposed economic talk shop will afford another opportunity for the government and stakeholders to brainstorm on the country’s economic fundamentals and proffer solutions on the measures to stem the decline.
The conference has become imperative against the backdrop of government’s dwindling revenue in the face of low oil prices. The depreciation of the naira has also been a major concern. Another concern is the drop in foreign reserves, which have fallen to below $28 billion. This has compelled the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to adopt stringent forex measures, including the ban on certain items from accessing forex through the official window.
At the conference, there will be need for short-term interventions in some areas but emphasis should be on long term solutions. That is not to say that it is only through the conference that the current challenges we are facing can be solved. We recall that there were conferences in the past under different names, including Ibrahim Babangida’s debate on IMF loan, Sani Abacha’s Vision 2010, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s Vision 2020 and Goodluck Jonathan’s Transformation Agenda. Now is the time to interrogate ourselves and fashion out an economic philosophy as the basis of which we can attain prosperity in the long term.
On the modalities, it is left for the government to decide how it should be organized. But whichever way or form they choose to go, they should try and reduce cost and avoid the mistakes of the past where huge sums of money were expended to organize national conferences. The proposed conference should dwell on issues that require urgent attention. It is expected that it would be solution-centred and also create the platform to rally the nation towards a clear and beneficial economic direction. It should not be politicized otherwise it will go the way of other national conferences.
President Muhammadu Buhari should at the onset lay out his plans for economic rebirth of this country on how fighting corruption should be matched with fight against economic corrosion. Similarly, the government needs to put emphasis on diversifying the base of the economy and harnessing growth. Resuscitation of the Ajaokuta Steel rolling mill and all its subsidiaries scattered in Oshogbo, Katsina and Delta must be given priority attention. Electricity generation should be given serious consideration. There must be discussion on how to bring down interest rate and inflation in order to encourage local production of goods and services. Out of the box solutions must be found to the expensive not easily accessible credit facilities for SMEs. Other issues like the value of the naira, taxation as a means of income redistribution, reform of the legal system to encourage local investment and speedy adjudication on economic and financial matters should be discussed.
Finally, at the end of the talk shop the president should assemble a good team of economic experts to pour through the recommendations of the conference and draft an economic policy framework in line with the direction of his administration’s economic recovery program and chart a roadmap that could lead to sustainable economic recovery.