As
the Nigerian economy presently founders and teeters on the brink, one
of the critical and fundamental issues confronting the nation today is
the challenge of rebuilding the economy to ensure its rapid recovery and
sustainable development.
Consequently,
to actualise the much touted change revolution by the All Progressives
Congress and meet the high expectations of the Nigerian people, the
immediate task and priority of the incoming Muhammadu Buhari government
should be to quickly hit the ground running by initiating and
implementing broad-based, comprehensive and far-reaching structural
economic reforms, in order to revamp the economy and steer it on the
path of steady growth and development.
It must
be affirmed that without structural reforms there cannot be any
meaningful and enduring economic development. This is because effective
structural reforms create value, growth and investment opportunities in
the economy by stimulating entrepreneurship, accelerating the pace of
industrialisation, as well as efficiently allocating and harnessing
economic resources for sustainable development. The way and manner the
new government confronts and tackles the socio-political and economic
challenges confronting the nation will be crucial in determining the
rapid recovery and future development of the economy, especially against
the backdrop of the Vision 20: 2020, for Nigeria to be one of the 20
leading economies in the world by 2020. With the present realities of
recession and dwindling fortunes in the Nigerian economy, however, it is
apparent that we are not likely to achieve the Vision 2020 which is
just five years away! It may, therefore, become imperative for the new
government to revisit and revise the plan to Vision 20:2030, which
implies that, ceteris paribus, Nigeria will be one of the 20 leading
world economies by 2030.
Over the years, the effectiveness of
economic policies and development strategies employed by successive
governments to manage the economy has increasingly been called into
question. Indeed, attempts by one government after another to solve the
persistent macro-economic problems of falling output, slow/low growth,
rising inflation, high level of unemployment, huge budget and balance of
payment deficits and the seeming difficulties in ensuring the smooth
adjustments of economic structures to changing world production
patterns, through demand management policies, have failed to achieve the
desired results. This is because restrictive or contractionary policies
have only been able to marginally reduce inflation at the expense of
increased levels of short-term unemployment, while expansionary polices
designed to accelerate the rate of growth have been increasingly
transmitted directly into the price level, with negligible effects on
output. This policy dilemma has, therefore, brought to the fore the need
for the incoming government to develop alternative new, bold, creative
and imaginative approaches and development strategies in addressing key
elements of macro-economic indices and solving the seeming intractable
economic problems of the country.
First and foremost, the Buhari
government must immediately craft and clearly articulate a corporate
vision for Nigeria, as no country ever gets developed without a
pre-conceived, creative vision – a definite, conscious, purposeful and
deliberate plan of action and programme – which will give a clear focus,
direction, road map and framework under which economic and business
activities will take place. For the vision to be actualised and achieve
the desired results, it must be complemented by the right structures,
appropriate legislation/legal framework, effective policies and
necessary infrastructure, as well as political and institutional
reforms, in order to create the enabling environment for businesses to
thrive. Towards this end, the president-elect will need to put in place a
“technocratic” government whereby professionals and technocrats (and
not political appointees or bureaucrats) with the technical
know-how/expertise, tested performance, proven track record, core
competence and intellectual capacity in their respective fields or areas
of specialisation are appointed to serve, oversee, coordinate and
implement all areas of the economic reform agenda.
For
the national economy to be restructured along more efficient and
productive lines, the key issues of economic reforms by the new
government should be all-encompassing to include true fiscal federalism,
resource control and revenue sharing formula based on derivation
principles, significant reduction in cost of governance, tackling
insecurity, corruption and unemployment, especially youth unemployment,
civil service reforms, labour market reforms, tax administration
reforms, public expenditure reforms, capital and financial markets
reforms, power sector reforms, agricultural reforms, oil sector reforms
with the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Bill, electoral/democratic
reforms, among other issues bordering on our nationhood. Also, for the
people to support and buy-into the reforms, there must be openness,
transparency, probity, integrity and accountability by government
functionaries, as well as government Ministries, Departments and
Agencies.
Furthermore,
the reform programme should ensure a fundamental paradigm shift and
re-adjustment in the nation’s overall economic structure and texture by
rectifying structural rigidities, distortions, imbalances and
inequalities in the economy, through the avoidance and phasing out of
domestic policies which tend to inhibit or retard structural adjustment
to lasting changes in product and factor markets. By so doing, the
economic reforms will stimulate new opportunities in the real,
productive sector of the economy, while eliminating the inefficient use
of resources in economic activities, in order to move away from the
present consumer/rental economy to a productive/self–sufficient economy,
thereby spurring the desired industrial growth and development. In
order to facilitate inclusive economic growth and rapid
industrialisation, it is imperative that the new government should
evolve a national industrial policy/development plan which should
essentially focus on outward looking development strategies predicated
on export expansion, diversification of the economy within and away from
oil and the encouragement of the private sector to assume the
commanding heights of the economy and serve as the fulcrum and engine of
growth.
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