64 years of our nation, the journey so far (2)

The political journey in the governance of Nigeria is full of tales of woes in economic stagnation, whenever the testament is presented from the perspective of keen observers of the Nigerian state and its governance system. It has always been loads and baggage of reckless administrative flaws, borne out of unpatriotic self-serving service in government circles over a long period running into many decades. The message one is trying to pass across in this discourse is that the country is naturally endowed with rich minerals and human resources, the potential of which attract envy globally, but they are not prudently harnessed and properly managed to achieve the desired super rich economic results for the Nigerian state. The hurting experiences of today’s economy and the deep rooted anguish of the entire citizenry will always be in-exhaustively presented in the most agonising manner, unless things begin to change for the better. The journey so far has brought the nation to a hopeless and miserable point, in the middle of nowhere, economically. However, no hope is ever lost because Nigerians are a special breed of tough cookies that are uniquely wired with very inelastic patience and endurance when suffering socioeconomic challenges. Their unequalled resilient nature in the midst of total lack of ethical leadership with integrity has nobly earned them a global recognition in the comity of nations.

The political leaders (with the exception of very few or an insignificant number of committed and patriotic public officers among them) have actually not put the wheels of nation building on the proper track in the path towards national development. Yet, the country, surprisingly, still enjoys relative stability in her daily economic and commercial activities without visible social unrest as is observed in other climes of the globe. This particular aspect is, indeed, by the grace of God, which the leaders have always taken for granted. With deeply saddened sober reflection, any critical moment of stock taking over every aspect of the nation’s economic sectors, indicates that the economy, over the past decades (from shortly after the nation’s independence), has in one way or the other lost great opportunities and grounds for growth in areas like energy generation and supplies; national agricultural development, facilitation of world class health services, and vision driven education delivery for all – to cut down the level of illiteracy, with an improved average life span/expectancy; where the state provides dedicated security services for protection of lives and property. 

The socioeconomic conditions prevalent in the country as a result of poor governance is not helping matters because, the private sector of the economy, the actual segment of society that ought to be critically engaged as economic engine for national growth, has been grossly ignored in the journey towards achieving impressive productivity or gross domestic product (GDP). This has been done by not supporting, not encouraging, not promoting the efforts of the local investors in local manufacturing industries. This particular issue bothers mainly on the aspect of the government’s total neglect of the activities of the real sector, especially where their foreign counterparts are able to manufacture goods and offer services that compete effectively on cost in the international market. The state cares less about the wellbeing of its local industries that lack the necessary infrastructural enablement that government is expected to provide to back these investors to be operational on a level playing ground. This aspect of neglect has adversely affected the development of this economy, a situation that has already made few foreign investors/conglomerates to relocate to neighbouring countries because of Nigeria’s hostile and unfavourable business environment, which always exposed them to recording losses in their operations. This is one area the present government ought to focus on, with the aim of reversing the trend to the advantage of the state’s economic and financial accruals and, of course, improved revenue generation.

Nigeria needs to ponder, reflect and do things differently from now on. A few notes on the nation’s economic retrogression will remind the political leaders about the lofty heights this nation has fallen from in the past few decades, just with respect to the tumbling value and worth of our local currency (the naira) and the pump price of the refined petroleum product, Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol. In reviewing this historic reference within the past five decades; the naira (#) exchanged for one United States Dollar ($) in 1972 at about #0.66 (precisely @65.8 kobo); while petrol pump price increased in 1973 from 6.00 kobo per litre to 8.50 kobo per litre. In 1980 $1 exchanged @55.00 Kobo (while the parallel market rate was @90.00 Kobo). In 1985 $1 was @89.4 Kobo, as Naira significantly lost value in the parallel market by straying beyond the “Kobo range’’ into a Naira status at N1.70. Thereafter, petrol price under Bahangida became N5.00 per litre in 1993 (from 70.00 Kobo per litre. The petrol increase continued in 1999 under Abacha, from N11.00 per litre to N20.00 per litre, after the Naira exchanged in 1994 @N22.33; while the parallel market was @N56.80. In 2000, the Naira fall continued to a record low of N85.98 kobo, while theparallel market was @N105.00 kobo. Between 2000 and 2004 under Obasanjo, petrol price rose from N20.00 to N65.00 per litre; the Naira fall still continued endlessly in 2005 from N132.00 to N136/$. In 2009 from N145.00/$ it went to N171.00/$. In 2014, $1 exchanged @N170.00/$ to as much as N199.00/$. By the year 2015, it dropped to N500.00/$, but later appreciated in 2017 @N365.00/$, until it exchanged for around N470/$; with petrol sold @N162 per litre. 

Currently the exchange rate has dropped to the lowest value of N1,670.00/$; while petrol sells @N1,300.00 per litre. Check this out, and deduce your conclusion on where we are so far. Where is the nation heading to?

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