In the protection of ‘other people’s interests’ in the economy through governance, there is the need to keep repeating and emphasising a pertinent question: “Why can’t every one of us, for once, do a rethink, then have a sober reflection, watch and observe how things are done differently in developed economies, for the sake of the entire citizenry?” Doing things differently in Nigeria beyond Nigeria @65 demands that the current administration’s leadership, under the watch of President Bola Tinubu, who has done well by removing the controversial fuel subsidy (although the sudden impact was greeted with high cost of food inflation, economic hardship and hunger that are currently being addressed by his economic team), should respond in this manner by reconsidering the recently proposed amendment to the Petroleum Industry Act that was signed on August 16 2021. This is based on the premise that the Production Sharing Contract, PSC, already signed by the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, with the international oil companies, IOCs, for the much desired foreign direct investments, FDI, in the nation’s deep waters of the oil and gas industry; with its attractive legal and fiscal frameworks, should not be jeopardised by planning to sell significant portions of Nigeria’s upstream equity in some of the best-performing oil and gas joint ventures; since it is meant for the actualisation and attraction of more economic breakthroughs for the economy.
What should rather be addressed, instead of altering the entire status quo as enshrined in the extant PIA, are the alternative ways of escalating fiscal leakage and revenue loss confronting the federation, by effective plugging. This is in order to retain NNPCL as the government’s concessionaire in existing production-, profit- and risk-service contracts. Such steps should be considered instead of altering the entire scenario, where the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission would also act as the nation’s concessionaire in addition to their regulatory role.
In the same vein, repeating this pertinent question, again brings to fore the present price review on compressed natural gas from N230 to N380 per standard cubic metre in some parts of the country, including Ogun, Lagos and Abuja. This ought not to have been done at all, because this product, particularly, has been identified by a good number of Nigerians, who operate from different daily economic and commercial activities, as the best alternative to the expensive refined petroleum products; when compared with the price of premium motor spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, that costs much more in terms of their respective unit performance rate. It is therefore necessary that the national economic efficiency (that is the same as the GDP) should specifically be noted for observation, as the index by which the federal government assesses the present inflation rate that has already started showing a steady decline. This reason pointedly calls for the attention of the general public, that beyond Nigeria @65, therefore, all stakeholders should corporately join hands and figure out how this economy can be prudently managed and developed, instead of being sabotaged through unpatriotic and fraudulent acts that only end up enriching the private purses of those in positions of authority, against the interest of the state that they serve.
This economy, as a matter of fact, needs to improve in its operational modes, to enable it to be set in the proper pedestal that would facilitate speedy economic growth, after the forthcoming independence celebration on October 1, 2025. As the inflation figures have maintained a steady decline for a fifth straight month; making the local currency, the naira, to hit a five month high against the United States dollar, the government (the nation’s economic managers) is urged to maintain the present economic trend, which would in the very near future, strengthen the bargaining power of the poor masses in the economy. This trend, again, cannot be effectively realised if the insecurity challenges in the country are not stamped out. The governments, therefore, should up their game at various levels of governance, to provide efficient security services (at the local, state and the federal levels). This aspect of governance should be taken very seriously because of the fact that insecurity has worsened in the country. These issues, as pointed out, are the areas the present federal administration should focus its attention much more, for the realisation of the expected higher rate of governance performance for the country.
Nigeria, as a nation, should move on to a higher socioeconomic level because it has tarried longer than necessary at this very unimpressive level. Therefore, the government is earnestly urged to do things differently, in the days, weeks, months, and years beyond the Nigeria @65 celebrations. This achievable landmark in governance lies in the hands of the administration to either realize the expected target by patriotically, and very sincerely applying political will, or they leave everything undone, as usual. The fate of this country’s economic performance (actually) lies in the hands of the government in power.
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