‘We’ve Taken Nigerians Out Of Poverty’ Speech Of Osinbajo, Taking Patriotic Chivalry Too Far
The Oasis Reporters
September 3, 2018
Take a look at the hand on the chin and disinterested look on Nigeria’s Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun’s face.
Tells a lot, doesn’t it?
It is very normal for government officials to feel miffed and slightly irritated when foreign governments poke their nose into glaring and embarrassing truths about another country. The government being talked about would suddenly jump into a defensive position to prove foreigners wrong, by presenting a different set of data or figures to either what is being done, or what has already been done.
So it was with the visit of the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, who before she arrived Abuja, fired her salvo from the hips, that Nigeria was the world capital of human poverty. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo quickly jumped into his element, not by attacking the position of an important head of government where Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari remains a most frequent visitor on medical tourism because the African country’s hospitals are struggling with inadequate and derelict infrastructure which cannot treat the first family and all the elite, the first indication of glaring poverty, unlike in countries like Brazil for instance, where a former president had major operations performed on him and he recovered or in most other countries where their leaders constantly upgrade facilities and get treated at home.
Ever since President Buhari came into power, inflation strolled in to stay. He inherited a single digit inflation rate from former President Goodluck Jonathan in May 2015. By January 2016, it was 9.6%. And 11.4% in February.12% in March, April, 13.7%, 14.6% in May with a continuous climb June, 15.5%, July, 16.1%, August, 17.1%, and 18.3% in October. The figures indicate a continuous or rising climb.
Contrasted with static public service wages for instance that remains at 18,000 naira as minimum wage, a foreign exchange regime that continued to climb until it hit 350 naira to the dollar, what then is the basis for any meaningless defence? An example taken at random is the cost of purchasing, let’s say, Magic Shaving Powder. For more than twenty years, men would buy it off the shelf for between 250 naira to 400 naira. Since 2017, it has risen to between 1,200.00nr – 1,500.00nr. Therefore should a worker earning the minimum wage of 18,000nr per month stop to shave? Or shave and marginalize food supplies to his household?
Besides, at the time former president Jonathan raised the minimum wage to 18,000nr per month, the USD was below 200nr. Most consumables in the country are imported. The manufacturing sector in the country is almost comatose. The oil sector is still in the firm grip of the government, rebuffing every attempt to open it up to the private sector, thereby unleashing jobs in oil refining, leaving fuel importation strictly under a subsidy regime. Out of 188 countries, Nigeria ranked 152 in Human Development Index.
Nigeria’s 36 states are designed to share revenue from the centre and not to create revenue. It goes on and on and it doesn’t really take much to tell that Nigeria’s poverty index is at the bottom.
In defending the government position, Osinbajo said the administration laid a solid foundation for a resilient and competitive economy, provided infrastructure and opened space for private investment to accelerate growth and development through the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) initiative.
The vice-president, who spoke in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, at the 17th Joint Planning Board and National Council on Development Planning (NCPD), identified “social investment initiatives” as the vehicles used to pull Nigerians, in their millions, away from the poverty trap.
He was represented by the Minister of Budget and Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma.
Osinbajo said the government would invest in Nigerians and give them a better life, adding: “Billions of naira have been committed to tackling infrastructural deficiencies, while resources are being utilised and projects prioritised to ensure transformation of the country.”
Speaking on the NCPD meeting with the theme: “Accelerating the implementation of the Economy Recovery and Growth Plan: The Role of Stakeholders,” he noted that the Federal Government was committed to ensuring that it delivered on the objectives and targets of ERGP.
According to him, the administration via the ERGP had revitalised fertiliser blending plants, which assisted Nigeria to save over 200 million dollars annually.
“We are proud of the successes recorded in the agricultural sector. The revitalisation of our fertiliser blending plants alone has saved the country over $200 million annually in foreign exchange and over N60 billion in budgetary provisions for fertiliser subsidies.
“This has also made it possible to purchase fertiliser at prices up to 30 per cent cheaper than previously available. We are importing less rice today than we did a few years ago.
“I am glad to note the partnership some states, such as Kebbi and Lagos have entered into in a bid to support the agricultural development and food security objective of the ERGP. I expect to see more of such model agricultural collaboration among other states,” he said.
The vice-president identified the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), security and inflow of foreign investments as areas where the ERGP had helped the country to experience success.
“I am aware that the National Committee on Export Promotion is implementing a plan to enhance export promotion and economic diversification in line with the Zero Oil Plan (ZOP) initiative. We have budgeted N44.2 billion in the 2018 budget for the establishment of Special Economic Zones in the country’s six geo-political zones to drive local manufacturing and exports.
“We are also paying close attention to the mining sector by reinforcing the Mining Regulatory Agency. About N644 million has been voted for this in the 2018 budget. We are ready to set up a National Gold Purchase Scheme. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is advancing discussions on the modalities for gold purchase towards enhancing liquidity in the sector.
“I believe that to accelerate implementation of the ERGP and deliver on its target of 7 per cent GDP growth by 2020, we need massive private investment. And that underscores the significance of the ERGP Focus Labs. I am pleased to note that this exercise has yielded positive outcome.
“In the past few months, we have taken a number of decisions that will further facilitate the realisation of the massive private investments unlocked in these labs. I think the states must be commended for their willingness to cooperate and assist in making these investments to happen.
“From our reports, some of the states have responded positively to a number of approvals that were required from them. The success of the Labs is a testimony to what partnership between the public and private sector can achieve when they work together for public good,” he added.
Well, hardly ever convincing, or is it? What Nigerians are experiencing on a daily basis remains vastly different, and they seem ready to believe Theresa May, than any other government position.
