Not fuel subsidy, but the thieves in our midst

We paid off a debt incurred by a few, suffice to say, a debt incurred by a cabal. We are not all economists and no economics makes more sense than bread on our table, whether cassava or wheat, and rice too, whether Dangote, Thailand, Ofada or Abakaliki. However, the DMO tells us what we all […]

We paid off a debt incurred by a few, suffice to say, a debt incurred by a cabal. We are not all economists and no economics makes more sense than bread on our table, whether cassava or wheat, and rice too, whether Dangote, Thailand, Ofada or Abakaliki.

However, the DMO tells us what we all perhaps know, that we are denied all these because of: Reckless and inefficient borrowing of few, borrowing decisions not linked to any future growth or exports taken by a few, insufficient regard given to economic viability of projects by the same few. Poor implementation due to weak absorptive capacity and governance problems caused by a few, criminality of a few in mismatching between loan terms and project profiles and leakages associated with governance problems by the same few that are referred to as the cabal, the elite, the ruling class, and leadership.

In June 2005, Obasanjo rightly stated that “Nigerians got to the point where her debt burden became a challenge to peace, stability, growth and development due to political rascality, bad governance, abuse of office and power, criminal corruption, mismanagement and waste, misplaced priorities, fiscal indiscipline, weak control, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, and a community that was openly tolerant of corruption and other underhand and extra legal methods of primitive accumulation”.

Alas, the same institutions Obasanjo and Okonjo revamped are the same that have collapsed so quickly and in desperate need for subsidy money to revamp again. Many of us still cannot find the additional $1 billion or N130 billion that was allegedly pumped into human welfare budget of health, education, food security and infrastructural development.

We do not understand how the economic reform programme and development strategy championed by a strong Economic Management Team (EMT) that was home grown,  globally recognized and endorsed, and by a woman of indomitable character and courage Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala collapsed to a point, she is speaking same words she spoke barely half a decade ago.

Prince Charles Dickson is Editor burningpot.com