Let’s rebase our politics and policies

Recently, Nigeria was at the centre of global economic discourse for good reasons. The country revised its gross domestic product (GDP) estimate which, according to Moody’s Investors Service, has shed more light on the country’s sovereign credit profile.

The new GDP currently put at $501 billion, as announced by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), is aimed to give a more up-to-date picture of the economy’s size and structure which, until now, were calculated with 1990 prices and an older standard of industrial classification.

For us, that is a milestone which, from a credit standpoint, allows a better understanding of the country’s economy and its underlying resilience, showing further that the country is richer and more diversified than previously presented.

Our joy in all of this is, however, not total because we see a strong correlation between politics and economy, which is why we believe that, for the new GDP to make any meaning at all, there is the need for political and policy rebasing in the country.

The kind of politics that is played in Nigeria currently is both archaic and anachronistic going by the spirit of rebasing which has seen the nation’s economy leaped ahead of its peers on the African continent.

If investors must come in as a result of the realisation of the huge potentials in various sectors of the economy as revealed by the rebasing, politicians and government must change their modus operandi.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, minister of finance and coordinating minister for the economy, rightly pointed out that merely having a bigger economy presents challenges, not a claim to bragging rights. According to her, the rebased figure will not make poverty and unemployment disappear, but would give the government needed tools to tackle them.

Over the years, the attitude of politicians and governments had hindered economic development in the country. Businesses that would have contributed to the GDP were either killed or their growth stunted by vested interests or unfavourable policies. Some companies also, because they are owned by those close to people in the corridors of power, don’t pay tax and whereby they do, what they pay are just peanuts.

Power remains one of the major challenges of the country. Despite the huge amount of money that has so far been sunk in the sector since 1999, businesses are still suffering on account of epileptic power supply. Tongues are still wagging in some quarters that some individuals and institutions involved in the recent privatisation of the power sector were not transparent in their activities.

Whereas the annual electricity generated in 2012 by Nigeria expressed in kilowatt-hours was about 20.13 billion, that of South Africa was 238.3 billion. Whereas South Africa is generating well over 40,000 megawatts of electricity, Nigeria is doing only 3,818mw. Without adequate power generation and at a reasonable cost, the competitiveness of Nigeria on the global scene will be greatly impeded. The Nigerian road infrastructure is known to be heavily politicized also.

Government determines where it carries out road projects and maintenance for political reasons. This has also greatly affected businesses in the country. Nigeria also lags behind South Africa in rail transport infrastructure.

Although there are a number of reforms, particularly privatisation of telecoms which has turned information and communication into a huge contributor to the GDP, a whole lot of the mouthed reforms have produced nothing worthwhile. Such reforms were either killed by vested interests or policy somersaults.

It is on this premise that we advise that if the country will indeed reap from the rebasing exercise; if the huge GDP is to profit Nigerians in the long run, government must begin to do what other buoyant economies do to ensure the paradox of a rich nation with poor citizens is wiped out.

We advise further that there must be transparency in the management of resources; the too-many leakages in the system must be plugged; policies must be made and properly implemented; there must be improved governance whereby the social contract government signed with the people is respected. In our candid opinion, all these must be looked at again and, in the spirit of the new reality, government must begin to live out its essence, and must be held accountable.

It will be paradoxical if our politics remains the old fashioned type that attacks individuals and not issues. Issue-based campaign must be espoused. The kind of politics we need now is the kind that can enable the country leapfrog to align with those of its peers in the developed economies.

The ministries, departments and agencies must be ‘rebased’ so to speak. Political parties have to redraw their manifestos and take another look at activities that can draw respect to the country. This is the way to go.