By Steve Osuji
GOVERNANCE BY BLACKMAIL AND SUBTERFUGE: The initial response was to deny. This has simply confirmed this government’s unstated policy of high deceit, concealment and subterfuge.
For instance, our President Muhammadu Buhari was acutely sick ab initio but that fact was hidden from Nigerians. Since he took office in 2015 he has shuttled foreign hospitals half the time as if Nigerians elected a medical tourist.
Yet we don’t know what ails our president; we don’t know the costs of these countless medical junket. When you ask questions about all this you are blackmailed with accusations of lack of empathy.
The same way a governor, who is a de facto member of government, who ought to know, has warned about the dangers of the federal government borrowing excessively and unilaterally minting cash even.
But what’s the federal government’s response to this act of good faith? First was naked denial. Federal Finance Minister, Aisha Mohammed had gone for the natural response of this government when caught out: deny, deny and deny.
When the lies were collapsing around their ears they shifted to the next gear: blustery, blackmail and subterfuge. This is the nature of the Central Bank’s response when its governor Mr Godwin Emefiele responded. Edo State governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki had admonished that reckless production of sovereign cash is counterproductive economics and federal government deploy lies and blackmail.
The tone and character of this government has been captured in a press briefing that may have been framed with the dark canvas of history and which may define and haunt Emefiele’s tenure at the CBN. He is shown sweating profusely and mopping his running nemesis inelegantly before a cathode of cameras. The video is indeed, Emefiele’s redux.
Let’s put the CBN governor’s news briefing in proper context: it was minted cash which had actually been procured to bailout (underperforming) governors who were stuck with salary arrears about five years ago. They are yet to pay back. Now they blackmail the FG about printing more cash to augment monthly allocation. We shall have to make them start paying immediately. Since they love mischief, let’s play the game; let’s see who weeps.
Here, the CBN governor admits without conceding that yes indeed, the Buhari administration prints cash routinely whenever it needs cash. It did so in 2015/16 during the first Buhari recession. And we have just minted some more recently.
A few posers:
▪︎ what’s the cost of printing so much cash? Those who know have said it could never be cost efficient.
▪︎which Central Bank prints cash to pay salaries and drink champagne in elaborate government house soirees? It’s elementary economics that you increase the quantum of money by revving up production lest you court inflation?
▪︎any wonder Nigeria’s inflation has remained in double digits since Buhari came on in 2015?
▪︎it is true that Nigeria’s inflation is inching towards 20% but do they realise the implications of this among the populace?
▪︎between 2015 and 2021what smart measures has the CBN, Finance and Planning Ministry devised to improve the economy. For instance, it doesn’t take all of five years to aggressively fix our refineries or build new ones as a matter of urgent national economic strategy.
▪︎ imagine the the impact on Nigeria’s economy if she stopped importing over a dozen petroleum products including PMS, AGO, Kerosine, engine oils, different densities of polypropylene and polyethylene; benzene, among others. Imagine Nigeria saving about $10 to $15 billion annually from managing her crude oil better.
Yet this age old executive madness (crude oil export and products import) which is clearly inimical to the very survival of the country has lingered till this minute.
▪︎ why would a government that rode on the LIMOUSINE OF CHANGE to seize power in 2015 now be backtracking in a MOLUE packed with sweating and confused Emefiele’s and muddled up Aisha Mohammed’s.
BUHARI’S STREETCAR NAMED NEPOTISM: Almost six years on, it is now clear to discerning Nigerians that Muhammadu Buhari is on a vendetta mission. Buhari’s return to power is ostensibly to impose a Fulani/northern hegemonic agenda. But because there’s little thought or intelligence invested in the scheme, it has failed spectacularly, leaving the north a wasteland and showing Buhari for what he truly is: A FAILED LEADER AND A COLOSSAL FAILURE. This is the VERDICT of history already.
▪︎Only an imbecile would seek to uproot a people from their traditional homestead and seek to supplant them with another people… in 2021!!
▪︎It’s the raging war in Buhari’s head that has turned the integrated economics of beef, dairy, leather and organic manure into a national tragedy of high magnitude in the last six years.
▪︎It is the same Buhari nihilist agenda which ensconced a Pantami, himself an avowed nihilist to head what is perhaps the most strategic ministry in the land. Remember a mullah who shunned compulsory national youth service was on that desk before Pantami. There’s a pattern afterall.
▪︎The Buhari’s years of boondoggle has been devoid of economics in the true sense of it.
▪︎He sits on the the oil sector which could have provided some lift but he suffocates it. Billions of dollars are committed to fruitless search for oil all over the north.
▪︎A refinery was started and completed in Niger Republic;
▪︎A massive gas pipeline (AKK) is being hurriedly built built to feed the north.
▪︎A behemoth of an integrated petrochemical, refining and fertiliser project has been allotted to none other that DANGOTE. Whenever it is finally completed, it would impose a vice grip of a monopoly on Nigeria, with no hope of a pump price reprieve on the people.
The VICIOUS CEMENT MONOPOLY is a taste of what to come for Nigerians!
▪︎ Billions of naira in dubious agricultural schemes is being channelled to the north through a supine Central Bank.
▪︎An unthinking Central Bank pretends to cultivate rice while Nigeria still consumes mainly smuggled rice.
▪︎A thinking CBN would support maize production considering its huge value chain (animal feed, industrial uses) and ease of production. But Nigeria imports maize that she ought to export. Poultry business in Nigeria almost failed last year because of dearth of forex to import maize for feeds.
ELEMENTARY ECONOMICS MEETS PRIMITIVE GOVERNANCE: This translates to an economy devoid of economics. In the last six years of President Buhari, there’s been little productive economics going on in Nigeria. This explains why we have suffered recession twice. This explains our galloping inflation while GDP has faced south.
And when you add this to a Finance and Planning Minister who has the mentality of a bank teller and a CBN governor who panders to the whims of government house creeps, then you will begin to understand the meaning of an ECONOMY WITHOUT ECONOMICS…
• Osuji is a newspaper columnist.