Economy beyond summit

Ten months after the inauguration of the Muhammadu Buhari administration, the President only last Monday unfolded what he termed his economic agenda. In all fronts, the current government has been adjudged to have dashed the hope of many Nigerians and squandered the goodwill it enjoyed before election and shortly after the inauguration. A government that rode to power on the back of profuse promise to usher in positive change in the polity, appears to have been so overwhelmed that it seems to many that it has lost touch with reality.

Contrary to the belief that the coming of a new government would mean instant relief from many years of maladministration and its attendant deprivation, the rhetoric has since changed and anger is rife against the government of the day. What appeared as early sign of lack of focus on the part of government was the appointment of ministers months after the inauguration, a case worsened by the inability of the ministers to walk and work outside the shadows of the President.

Although the ministers have on many occasions and at different fora mouthed several plans on how to turn the country around through positive, practical and result-oriented activities in their various sectors, they have not matched their talk with action. Close to one year in the life of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government, it has been all motion and no movement with the economy at its worst state.

What appears amusing and baffling to Nigerians is the new round of rhetoric being mouthed by President Buhari, a familiar, old slogan that successive administrations deceived the people with. If Nigeria’s problems could have been solved through summits and conferences, there would have been no need for a Buhari. This is because the country has had more than enough of such talk shops, yet without positive outcomes. While Nigerians expected the Federal Government to take pro-active steps to addressing the urgent challenges of the country, Aso Rock believe that much talk could do some magic.

The other day, while declaring open the two-day economic summit in Abuja, the President trod the usual path, pledging to boost electricity output to 10,000 megawatts (MW) and also boost gas supply. He talked about agriculture, manufacturing, housing, health in just the same way he spoke when he was canvassing votes. But it is worrisome that there is no clear-cut plan on how to achieve all the lofty promises. What the President said last Monday was not new. There had been similar or even smoother and sweeter promises by his predecessors which never came to fruition.

Again, the President missed the mark when he said his administration had three more years. He must have forgotten that after next year, the greater part of 2018 and the entire 2019 would be used for campaign, alignment and re-alignment of forces, preparations for, and the general elections proper. Having lost one whole year, Buhari only has one year to perform or fail woefully.

We are pained to note that it appears to have become the way of life of Nigerian governments to deceive the citizens by consciously promising what they know they cannot fulfill. This lying culture, as it were, has over the years eroded the confidence of the people in their leaders.   

In the last one year, the quality of life of Nigerians has dropped. A good number of citizens are experiencing excruciating pain from economic hardship and perpetual darkness occasioned by government monetary policies. Worsening power supply continues to weigh.

Prices of essential goods and commodities have continued to rise in the last few months, a direct consequence of the forex policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). This is even as income of many Nigerian households have dropped just as struggling companies have either laid off staff or slashed staff salaries, leading to drastically reduced purchasing power.

It is our candid opinion that rather than convoke a summit to rehash old lines aimed at pulling wool over the eyes of Nigerians, government should swing into action having wasted one year. It must be stressed that no amount of promises, couched in sweet vocabularies, would attract applause of Nigerians. Sterling practical performance would.