Reforms to kiss off economic hardship and save Nigerians 

The national economic policies that would reset the economy demand measures with human face from patriots (both in government and from the civil society), equipped for selfless service, void of unnecessary politicking or politicising the needed strategies on party sentiments because, the economy has been terribly battered on inhuman and wicked grounds, by the rulers (past and present political class), simply for their selfish benefits. This deed was perpetrated without considering its impact on the ordinary and vulnerable citizens in the land, economically (and today, there is fire on the mountain with mass suffering, mass hunger, mass kidnappings). This proposed new economic order, captioned as reforms, shall be completely different and novel; in the sense that the government in power shall give full backing to the reformists to selflessly and sacrificially conduct and discharge their duties and planned strategic tasks (within a specified time frame, as may be directed by the government), to freely implement legally backed measures that state would superintend and benefit from socioeconomically. It shall not be business as usual but, an operation carried out by a declaration of state of emergency on security for lives and property by security operatives; and also freshly assembled and appointed experts on the petroleum and on agricultural sub-sectors of the economy.

The socioeconomic situation in the land demands urgency to save the entire economy from total collapse. By ordinary perception, it seems difficult or near impossible to actualize impactful strategic reforms on the battered economy. This is because the calculations in operating a strategic plan for a result oriented policy, consistently suffer intentionally established suffocation from individuals in the ruling class with selfish corrupt tendencies that pay the state or the helpless masses, no good. To buttress this point from the activities in the oil industry, for instance, where the national oil company (NNPCL) has assumed the position of controller or regulator of the price of petrol rolling out from Dangote Refinery (with its about 20% equity participation). Such arrangement is either structured for corrupt exploitation against consumers of the refined products because the inevitable demand on PMS/petrol for internal combustion engines is hopelessly inelastic, on the bases that consumers have no option; or the obvious non existence of matching competitors or rivals presently in local refining operations, particularly now, under the present arrangement to provide crude oil in the naira. Such imposition to control and regulate the pump price of PMS coming from Dangote Refinery by NNPCL is an ill arrangement that breeds monopoly in a free market economy, which presently shoots up the price of petrol to an unimaginable figure of N1,300 per litre, as against the publicly expected or promised low pump price of about N300 per litre (with our locally drilled crude oil, supplied in our local currency; without foreign exchange burdens/overload, and the imputed shipment costs of crude outbound and refined products inbound). How can the economy or the people survive under such contraption of price control on a locally refined product whose raw material is supplied in the local currency? The insensitivity in the minds of those in charge of this economy surviving should stop forthwith because the product’s price hike at the filling stations spells doom for this economy! 

What one thinks the government should be doing presently is not the issue of food palliative, because the citizens that voted them into office are not beggars in the real sense of democracy. The government should be working at urgently reviving, at least, the government-owned refineries currently undergoing rehabilitation in Port Harcourt; and support all functionally fit modular refineries with supplies of crude in our local currency; in addition to Dangote Refinery, for a healthy competitive products’ pricing in the energy subsector. This would instantly, and very significantly, reduce pressure on the foreign exchange demand for imported cargoes of refined products and substantially improve the naira exchange rate. The impact alone from this dimension would generally douse the tension of hyperinflation on all goods and services; and shall go a long way in reducing food insecurity for low income earners, particularly the civil servants, who may then have an improved bargaining power in the food market. The aspect of food crisis (food insufficiency in the land) can only be tackled under agricultural sector state of emergency, where farmers are massively deployed and engaged to go back to their respective farmlands with heavily improved security protection by the government. These measures and more, are the likely reforms that shall kiss the present economic hardship and have it seamlessly neutralised, for Nigerians to heave a sigh of relief, economically. It is doable, if sincerely implemented by the government (at all levels), without being pessimistic in walking the talk, on this strategic action plan.  

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