The present harsh economic landscape of Nigeria, that is manifested in the activities of the human society and immediate natural environment, has been created by men and women whose peculiar style of governance in this economy has proven to be an unfortunate disaster. These public servants, mainly those who get in through political elective process, more than those that are placed in high positions of government authority by appointments in professional civil service cadre, form the critical leadership that is empowered for the economic growth progress of the nation. The leadership powers they are entrusted with to effectively manage and efficiently pilot the general economic affairs of the country have, disappointingly, been so poorly applied. The economy has been plied with wrong policies that it is at the brink of total collapse. Their actions and inactions, therefore, clearly created the ongoing unsustainable and very chaotic economic and commercial activities being experienced by the general public, in virtually all the sub-sectors of the nation’s economy and society. These sub-sectors include agriculture; health care delivery services; education; manufacturing; downstream sector of the oil industry; as well as varied other services.
There is really no point dwelling on the damaging impact of the “self interest” approach of these public officers here. All that is required is to be objective and focus on the real issues that are bothering the economy, and need to be dealt with, for the general purpose of alleviating the present painful, poverty situations of the suffering masses of this society. This is simply because it is touching and moving every time you physically observe the excruciating pains members of the general public are presently going through within the Nigerian economy.
On a daily basis, everything appears to be going haywire, where there are no longer controls over pricing of goods and services everywhere! The present economic confusion seems to have no solution in sight because, those in authority, appear not to be visibly involved and at the same time, are not aggressive in proffering feasible solutions that when implemented, could chart a pathway out of this economic doldrums. The stock taking and audit assessment of the performance by past governments compared with the present on economic and commercial activities in the economy demands information sharing and feedback for future improvement. It is therefore, obvious to infer that a lot of urgent attention needs to be given to correctional approaches, as may be forwarded through professional opinions to the government, to avert this continued sliding towards a total collapse of the economy.
This intervention, however, would require immediate action on the implementation of the correctional policies. A clear sample of what is being suggested is the issue of energy cost (costs of petrol, diesel, kerosene, cooking gas, aviation fuel, etc), which directly drives the economy (in respect to the daily activities that go on within the economy). The energy cost factor is vital and very critical because it directly determines the direction of flow (economic gains or losses) and at the same time, the relative impact other economic indices have on citizens. This then brings to the fore the issue of infrastructure in the downstream subsector of the oil industry. All that might be needed in solving the problems is the functionality of the available local refining facilities in the country (of both the government and privately owned).
This is no rocket science but it is okay if a lot of people in the country choose to continue to argue either about this (that is, “every-time local refining of crude oil, for the economy to improve”), or on the relevance of fossil fuel as a source for future energy needs in this era of heightened global discussion on climate change actions for a net zero resilience future (carbon emissions reduction due to the global warming) with the ongoing programmes and policies on energy transition. It is indeed the gospel truth, that fossil fuel is still very much relevant in the global energy mix for solutions management, through evolving technology, because Nigeria still has abundant reserves of both crude oil and gas. However, every other activity in the other economic sectors in Nigeria is indirectly influenced by this singular fact (the hydrocarbon business). Remember that the oil and gas sub-sector alone remains the highest contributor to the foreign exchange earnings of this economy; with a very significant and overwhelming percentage of about 80-90 percent, annually. This fact cannot simply be swept under the carpet, but we seriously need diversification and the growth of other non-oil exports for a well balanced economy. Nigeria needs it in order to be on a healthy and balanced economic growth path for economic development. The sufferings of tens of millions of Nigerians will reduce if the government completely implements total import substitution policy on refined products; by a wholesome production and supply synergizing strategy that takes in Dangote refining complex, some of the modular refining plants, and Eleme, Warri and Kaduna refineries under NNPC Limited being in full operation. There’s no way petrol pump price cannot be a little below N100 per litre, no matter how bullish the crude oil price shall be at the international oil market in the future. With this action alone, other commodity price indices, including the local currency exchange rate, will definitely start adjusting (over time) against the inflationary trend in the economy. This is because the foreign exchange pressure or stress on the country’s foreign reserves as a result of the daily demand and expenditure on refined products imports, would have been drastically eased off as the economy becomes self-sufficient in its energy needs (backed by locally refined products).
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