Government people, Nigerians are not fools abeg

Chuks Oluigbo

Have you heard the recent comment by President Muhammadu Buhari’s special adviser on economic matters, Adeyemi Dipeolu? Well, for the benefit of readers of Panorama who have not, the other day on Channels TV’s breakfast show, Sunrise Daily, Dipeolu said something to the effect that that for the economy to get out of the present quagmire, all hands must be on deck.

Good talk, isn’t it? Yes, on the surface at least, even though the present ugly state of the Nigerian economy is entirely the fault of the Buhari government. Forget all this blame game and noise about how they met a “virtually empty treasury” and how they did not inherit anything from Obasanjo, Yar’Adua and Jonathan. It’s all “sound and fury signifying nothing”. A government is elected to solve problems, not to complain and whine about past errors; to be an architect, not an archaeologist. The Nigerian economy is in recession today because the government of the day failed to take prompt action when it mattered most; failed to strike while the iron was still hot; and continues to look backward instead of forward. Several columns have been written on Nigeria’s path to recession, and much of the blame is on the road not taken by the present government.  

As secretary of BusinessDay Editorial Board last year, I could count the number of editorials we churned out calling on the newly-inaugurated Buhari government to sustain the confidence that had built up on the economy following the violence-free elections and smooth transition as well as the general perception of Buhari as a man of integrity. But was he even reading our editorials? No. He probably just read Mike Asukwo’s cartoons directly below the editorials and laughed and laughed and laughed – thanks to Garba Shehu, his spokesman, for that revelation. And when he was not reading cartoons and laughing, he was, like Lemuel Gulliver, the protagonist of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, touring the world.

And now that all that confidence, including even the massive goodwill of Nigerians that ushered Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) into Aso Rock, has been completely eroded, blown by no one else but the government itself, government people turn around and push the buck back to the hunger-ravaged Nigerian masses.

First, you tell poor, suffering, shrunken, hungry and angry Nigerians – many of who have lost their means of livelihood and even loved ones in the past year due to worsening hardship – that change, that nauseating word that you used to swindle them many months ago, begins with them. You ask half-dead people to continue to endure, to persevere and make further sacrifice in the faint hope of a better future while you maintain a fleet of over 10 presidential jets and live lavishly. Well, former Governor Ikedi Ohakim of Imo State did it too. He had a slogan: Sacrifice a little and enjoy forever. But while Imo people sacrificed, he plundered the state resources.    

And now, a certain economic adviser asks Nigerians to put all their hands on deck. But which deck? Yes, we realize that Economics is not Physics. Yes, we realize that certain policies may not yield immediate results; that there may be time lag. We know all that. And we also know that there is need for flexible thinking. But our worry is that there doesn’t seem to be any thinking going on at all. Nigerians don’t see any steps being taken signalling some form of movement. What we see is rigidity. We see a repeat of 1984/85. We see a government holding steadfastly to archaic ideas that have long been consigned to the dustbin of history. Was it not a top official of this government that was quoted to have said sometime ago that not even the best economists from Harvard and Oxford can turn this economy around?

And now Dipeolu says: “When Korea faced economic crisis in 1997/98, I saw pictures of women in thousands, coming out and giving their golds to their country so it can be sold so they can get out of this difficulty.”

What an analogy! But you can trust Nigerians to react appropriately. And here are some of the reactions on Nairaland.

Agwom: “How can a hungry woman or man donate?”

DozieInc: “Chai! A whole adviser on economic matters... His wife should lead the way, or he should tell that to Mrs Buhari, when the cost ($105,000) of the First Lady's handbag alone is the annual income of 50 families put together. The Korean women trusted their govt, but in Nigeria, it is equivalent to giving all your valuables to notorious neighborhood thieves.”

Cjrane2: “Let Aisha Buhari first donate her $140,000 handbag and $40,000 wrist watch. The ordinary people struggling to eke out a living are always the one called upon by the wealthy politicians to make sacrifices, while politicians and their wives enjoy from one luxury hotel to another, visiting exotic sites from country to country.”

2rutalk1: “They should stop shifting responsibilities to unsuspecting Nigerians. The CHANGE they promised must start with them. If they are incompetent to manage the economy, courtesy demands they throw in the towel. Simple.”

Woodboi: “Only God can save us in this country. As for our leaders? No hope!”

So, government people, Nigerians know all your tricks; they haven’t gone on rampage because they also love their lives, in spite of the ravaging hunger. But if things continue this way, you can’t be sure any more.

It’s time for this government to take responsibility and stop passing the buck. “The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of the leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which are the hallmarks of true leadership,” said Chinua Achebe in his 1983 book, The Trouble with Nigeria.

And for those Nigerians who ask every critic of government to proffer solutions, did you elect the critic to solve your problems? Rather than attack the critic, why don’t you face the government you elected and hold it to task? After all, no one is immune to the hardship, whether you are a ‘Wailer’ or a ‘Hailer’.