By Elizabeth Chukwuma
When the World Bank, under the Leadership of Ajay Banga, says Nigeria’s economy faces recession severe economic recession, described as the worst since the 1980s under Former President Muhammadu Buhari’s Administration in June 2020, no body took the global Bank seriously.
Officials of the World Bank had said that that ‘’the country’s economy will contract by 3.2% in 2020 because of poor management of its oil resources by the Buhari’s Administration’’. There is no gain saying the fact that oil revenue alone accounts for over 80% of the country’s Banking sector credit, and 50% of all government revenue.
The World Bank officials were said to have warned then Buhari’s government which relies on domestic and external borrowing to raise foreign exchange that the drop in oil prices in the international oil market, would affect the country’s oil revenues to fall from the already 8% of the GDP, achieved in 2019 to 5% in 2020 and may become worse in the coming years. Officials of the World Bank were said to have told then President Buhari that’’ tough fiscal policy measures are needed to stimulate the economy but the advice fell on deaf ears’’. He had planned to remove subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, popular petrol but could not implement it leaving it for his successor in office to do.
Barely four years after the Nigerian government failed to heed to the World Bank advice to initiate tough fiscal measures to stimulate the economy which then Buhari’s government failed to do that may have landed the country into the current economic mess aggrieved Nigerians who could no longer take the hardship had taken to the streets in Mina, Capital of Niger, home state of Ibrahim Babangida, a retired Army General and former Nigeria self- styled President, Suleja, a major town in the state and Kano to draw President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s attention to the hardship in the country.
The deteriorating economic situation which the International Monetary Fund, IMF, under the close watch of Kritalina Georgieva was said to have also blamed the country’s stagnant growth rate, widespread poverty, and severe food insecurity that have contributed to the persistent high cost –of- living crisis for the country’s economic crisis, noting that ‘’it may be worse in the coming months if nothing urgent is done to ameliorate the situation’’.
IMF officials were said to have corroborated the World Bank report that’’ inadequate revenue collection had remained one of the major obstacles hindering the nation’s economy. More worrisome was the Tinubu’s Administration’s decision to implement the old policies of the Buhari’s government which has to do with elimination petrol subsidy and free float of the naira in the country’s foreign exchange market and disruptions to the country’s Agricultural production.
Given that Tinubu is not ready to worsen the country’s domestic and external debts problem as the Katsina state born former Nigerian President did, may have informed why the country’s external financing I scarce as global food prices have risen sharply reflecting the repercussions of conflict and geo-economic fragmentation.
IMF Authorities had made it clear to those that cares to listen’’ that what is appropriate for the present Nigerian government to do ‘’is to focus on restoring the country’s micro-economic stability and creating the enabling environment for sustained , high and inclusive growth that will raise the country’s reserves and every limited fiscal space constrain’’ .
The worry of many now is that under the Tinubu’s over seven months of his Administration a bag of foreign parboiled rice is going for almost N80,000.00, a litre of petrol over N700.00 while N1,500.00 is now going for the North American country of the United States dollar in the country’s Autonomous Foreign exchange market, AFEM. There are indications that why Nigerians are suffering, the National Assembly monthly take0-home salary is over $30 million.
Sule Lamido Sanusi, a former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, during Goodluck Jonathan’s Administration and deposed Emir of Kano, had said that Nigerians rather than blaming Tinubu for the present hardship in the country, ‘’accusatory fingers should be pointed at Buhari, ‘’over the way he meddled the economy’’.
According to him, the former Katsina state – born Nigerian President’’ had turned deaf ear to reasonable advice on how to take Nigeria out of economic woes’’. He noted that ‘’any economist who has studied the previous Administration’s monetary and fiscal policies in the last eight years knows that Nigerians will fall into this difficult situation’’.
The erstwhile apex Bank governor who could not hide his feelings may have shocked Nigerians when he declared that ‘’the difficult situation is just the beginning ‘’if the right decision is not put in place , noting that such situations had happened in Germany , Zimbabwe, Uganda, and Venezuela in the past.
An aggrieved Sanusi had said that during Buhari’s Administration, Nigerians were living a fake lifestyle with huge debt from both foreign and domestic sources. He averred that the Nigerian government owed over N30trn, which was said to have resulted in debt service surpassing 100%. The Buhari Administration was said to have wated N23 trn in eight years with nothing to show for it but Tinubu in seven months had printed N7.8 trn , thus making too much naira available in the economy and still borrowed like Buhari, his predecessor. That much was confirmed by Nnaemeka Obiaeri, a development Economist and Investment Banker. When he appeared on Channels Sunrise programme recently. ,
Sanusi, the former CBN, governor has made it clear to those that cares to listen that the country’s economy was poorly managed under Buhari’s Administration as the they are not willing ‘’ to take advice’’, apart from sycophancy.
He asserted those sycophants are the ones that were buying the United States dollar at the rate of N400.00 and selling it at the rate of N600.00 to N700.00 at the parallel foreign exchange market or their established Bureau de’ Change.
The former Emir of Kano had lamented that there was a case of a boy who has no record of service both in the private or public sectors of the economy but own a private jet and own houses in Dubai, and England because he is buying US dollars at so a rate and selling them.
While the poor management of the Nigeria’s economy by the Buhari’s Administration has become the discussion wherever two or three people meet, another major revelation by one Ogbu Onyeka Michael , a Branch Controller of CBN, currently Headed by Olayemi Michael Cardoso . The CBN, branch Controller had revealed that Godwin Emefiele, the former CBN helmsman had approved $6.230 million to settle election observers in the last 2023 general elections.
Ogbu, the CBN, branch Controller, had said that the amount was given out in cash to one Jibril Abubakar, an official of from the official the office of the SGF following approvals by then President Buhari and Emefiele, the ex-CBN, governor. He had said that the request for the release of the $6.230 million to settle the foreign election observers was made by Mustapha, the immediate past SGF.
Boss Mustapha, immediate past Secretary to government of the Federation had told an Abuja High Court o Tuesday, February 13, while testifying in the trial of Emefiele, that Buhari’s signature was forged by those who withdrew the $6.230 million from the CBN, on February 8, 2023.
Based on the purport document allegedly written by the former SGF, the CBN Internal Memo dated 7th February , 2023, purported written by the apex Bank Director of Banking Services Department to the Controller , Abuja Branch, with the intent that the CBN , Abuja Branch Controller will believe that documents were genuine to pay them the sum of $6.230 million, which he did. This how had the situation of things were in the country at the tail end of the Buhari’s Administration: stealing from government coffers by Officials?
Even Emefiele, the former CBN, governor had told the Court that his ‘’signature was also forged’ by those who withdrew the $6.230 million from the apex Bank for payment of foreign election Observers. Already, three persons :Adamu Abubakar, mam Abubakar and Eric Ocheme who were said to have forged the immediate past Nigerian President Signature and provided the documents purportedly written by Mustapha, the former SFG, to Emefiele in January 23, 2023, to induce the payment of the $6.230 million from the CBN were said to have been put on the watch list of Interpol.
In spite of the fact that more damning reports are still coming about Buhari’s eight year-old Administration and poor management of the economy, which is causing Nigerians much suffering, Sule Lamido, a Chieftain of the Opposition People’s Democratic Party, PDP, and former governor of the north western staten of Jigawa , and who incidentally had served a minister of Foreign Affairs during Former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s government would want Tinubu, ‘’to take preventive measures against the general discontent in the country arising out of increasing poverty, high cost of living and the insecurity currently bedeviling the nation to avert a likely disaster’’.
Tinubu may have read the handwriting on the wall that there is total discontent of his Administration in both official and unofficial circles that he was said to have urged the Nigerian Army on Saturday, February 10, 2024, ‘’to shun actions that would truncate Nigeria’s democracy’’.
Ajuri Nggelale, Media Aide to the President had said the former Lagos state governor made the plea to the soldiers at the Diamong Jubilee of the Nigerian Defense Academy, NDA, Kaduna.
Appealing to the soldiers ‘’to continue to play their Constitutional role of safeguarding the country’s territial integrity he noted any inimical acts ‘’can destroy the gains of democracy which we have enjoyed in the last 20years’’.
The Nigerian President appears to be worried because in the past three years or thereabout, some African countries such as Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Sudan, and most recently Niger and Gabon, have been controlled by the military junta who had cited corruption insecurity, and increased poverty and high cost of living as the bases ‘’for the takeover from democratic governments’’ in their respective countries.
In a related development, the Economic and Final crimes Commission, EFCC, under the Leadership of Ola Olukoyede, appears to have beamed their searchlight on the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, which ha Mohammed Bello-Koko, as the Managing Director and other government agencies collecting North American country of the United States, US, dollars, in their transactions to be among those putting much pressure on the local currency and why it is depreciating in the country’s official foreign exchange market.
The maritime agency which is never short of reasons for charging some of its operators in US, dollars had said that ‘’it is because ‘’shipping is an international industry and the American dollar is a widely accepted means of payment’’ and therefore not involved in killing the naira at the country’s forex market.
Sarah Ballah, acting General Manager and Head of Corporate Communications of the Authority had reportedly said that it could not have failed to charge for its services in US dollar like other maritime nations ‘’ because shipping businesses are international’’ , nothing that since the agency is dealing with the international Community and in which some transactions have to be done on the internationally accepted medium of exchange, which is the US dollar .
She had said that some of the things that that the Authority does like procurement of vessels and pilot cutter among others, are transacted in US dollars and not naira because they are dealing with the International Community. She further stated that some other transactions involving the services of barge operators can be paid in US dollars or its naira equivalent based on the existing rate at the CBN controlled Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market, AFEM.
The NPA, spokesperson may have been encouraged to respond to enquiries why it is charging US dollars in some of its transactions with operators because EFCC, Authorities were said to have assemble a ,000 –person special task force to operate across its 14 offices, targeting individuals and organizations involved in illegal dollar transactions to relieve the pressure on the naira. The anti-graft agency may have set up the task force to strengthen the naira because of the failure of the government backed CBN, multiple foreign exchange policies to revamp the struggling local currency against the US, dollar, Which recently fell o over N1,500.00.
