Wow!
So Nigeria finally succumbed after all the millions, billions and
trillions disfarahan? We have been asked for several years:
how much money is in that Country when so much keeps on
disappearing? We wish we know how much we lost, actually nobody
knows for sure. What is surprising is that the Country is still
standing. Right now there is a consensus between the ruling Party
and the Opposition that we are on our way to the poor house. Lower
prices! I doubt it.
Some
of you might have been too young when General Gowon declared that
our problem is not money but how to spend it. When this writer told
people he was in Nigeria when Gowon was the Head of State, he was
told everyone they know got rich then. Instead of keeping quiet, he
also said he was in Nigeria when Shagari was the President. Anyone
not rich during the time of Gowon or Shagari, must have got a curse
on him!
Economic recession is usually a slowdown in economic activities over
a period of time like two or three quarters in a business circle
which our people have endured for even longer period of time. In the
western countries, it will qualify for a depression that lasts for
two or more years.
One
would expect that in a deflation where there is a negative inflation
rate, the general price level of goods and services would decrease
below zero percent; not in Nigeria. All prices keep going up just
as we pay more when African currencies are devalued on foreign
experts’ advice. What do you expect when only less than one third of
economic activities are between Africans?
Deflation by negative price index may be good if naira is not
devalued. We have gone through recession. Indeed we had depression
with the rest of the world. Note the difference between these terms
though. Economists and other academics have technical definitions
but the man on the street has another definition that is acceptable
to most. A popular one is that if you know people that are out of
jobs, that is a recession but if you are out of a job that is a
depression O!
Awolowo whose achievement was fueled mainly by agriculture, warned
Shagari’s Government
Nigeria would go
broke. Mismanaged economy and liberal
imports killed
textile. Not even Awo predicted this level of poverty in the land
flowing with wara, honey where any crop grew if we only
plant. He was ridiculed by R. Akinjide and called Prophet of Doom.
Little intra-African trade, in Africa’s total trade over the past
decade was
only about 11%,
compared to 70% with Europe.
Africans must kill an inferiority complex that we can only be rich
when we trade with Americans and Europeans not with ourselves at
home or with Africa. We must not forget that Groundnuts, Cocoa,
Coal, Palm Oil, from North, East and West of Nigeria gave us more in
terms of quality of life than our new found oil wealth crooks looted
away. While West Africa achieved relatively growth of 6% in 2014
despite its battle with the Ebola virus; slowly and gradually,
Nigeria’s growth of
6.3% came mainly from non-oil sectors showing that the economy is
diversifying.
The irony of all these is that African markets in general and
Nigerian business in particular never respond to the economic model
taught in foreign schools. Applying old wine to new bottles will
always fail. Yet, those that are looting the treasury are preaching
austerity measures to tighten our belts for another roller coaster
ride. Any further belt tightening, stomachs would burst
PAU!
We
have this mentality that the best managers of our treasury are
foreign employed and trained staff of International Monetary Fund,
World Bank, Paris Club etc. that can navigate the trick and
complexity of African aspiration. After devastated us accordingly,
the so called experts go back to their masters where they are
recognized with foreign jobs and awards. Well done!
Another case in point: Money Nigerians pour into the so called
“American” or “English” schools. If they can only spend half of it
with parents’ participation in many neighborhood schools, these
private schools will have good competition from locals but they will
never survive with the little starving salaries they pay local
teachers while
their “expatriates”
are handsomely paid. Apart from teaching children how to “speak
like European and American” what else do they offer?
Poor
people complain too much. Well, Saro say na poor I poor, no be
craze I craze. What an excuse from a poor man, eh! One can now
understand why they sent their children to Jakande School in FESTAC.
No wonder, the mothers told some wives we have gone crazy by
sacrificing the children for Jakande’s cause: “Our families do not
send children to such primary schools”.
The
only way to understand this is that some Jakande’s schools,
especially the one in FESTAC and another by Eric Moore in Surulere
were run like private schools mainly because of parents’
participation in those areas. FESTAC was the best town in Nigeria
where the houses and streets were pretty and smooth even better than
American cities. If you got out of FESTAC town, you could not wait
to get back home, sweet home. Boy, that is now history!
What
has this got to do with broke-ass Nigeria? Our mentality got us
broke. Even after Jakande left Office, many people expressed fears
they would never have had the opportunity to own a house but for
Jakande. Federal Govt. was forced to compete with states in
providing housing, schools spurring private trades and manufacturing
jobs. So when we say poverty is relative, it means Nigeria has never
had so many poor people with so little, while a few got filthy rich.
We are
now in the age of impunity and callousness where the very few dare
so many poor people and those that complained are labelled as the
enemy of progress or political opponents. We cannot recognize which
party is for the masses and the one for the very few rich because
crooks are evenly spread across the parties. The masses are so
confused; they do not know who is against them or who is using them
to acquire more loot into individuals and cronies‘ pockets
