By Maxwell Adeyemi Adeleye
In the words of Adetomiwa (2016), development is a culture and not a
product. We can’t buy development no matter how much money we have or
borrow. Today, some section of the country are jubilating that freedom has
cometh. They are happy that God, through the republic of China, is about
to deliver them from the formidable hegemony of United States of America
(US). They are happy and they want everybody to be happy.
However, Iet me as a citizen of Nigeria say that I have an objection. I
don’t just jubilate because people are jubilating. I censors why people
jubilates before I chose to jubilate or walk away. Therefore, on the
China-Nigeria forex deal, I am of the opinion that the media handlers of
President Buhari are just taking the ignorance of the large population of
Nigerians for granted and some who are well lettered to know the truth are
not talking; apparently, they don’t want to offend some certain interests.
Let me say equivocally that nothing goes to the developing nations from
developed nations free of charge. Any President taking foreign loan is not
helping his people. That is the rule in international political economy.
The more we borrow, the more pauperized we become; the more we subject our
citizens to slavery and economic bondage; the more we subject the
independent and sovereignty of our country to foreign encroachment.
Simply put, according to the empirically analyzed and well-critiqued
Marxist Perspective to the study of international political economy, a
foreign loan or foreign aide is defined as an instrument which the
Developed Nations have consistently been using institutionally, to
colonize or neo-colonize the Developing Nations. That is Foreign loan is a
tool being used by developed nations to colonize developing sovereign
nations.
Consequently I am saying without any fear or Favour that I refuse to be
carried away by the current media conspiracy from the Nigerian presidency.
China, like other western hegemonies, is not a Father Christmas. China
want to borrow Nigerian government two billion dollars, but they want to
give us in Yuan and not the dollar itself. How sensible is that?
More also, let it be on record that China is not handling cash to Nigeria.
What they want to do is what is called “service exchange” in international
market; meaning that if we want to buy stove, we buy it from Chinese
company to be recommended by Chinese government and they pay the company
on our behalf.
If we want to construct railway, they will construct it for us. All the
equipments to be used are to be made in China. The contract must be
executed by a Chinese firm. Chinese government is to pay the contractors.
We are bound to award contracts to them. Non-Chinese firms can’t bid or
compete to reduce the cost.
Also, as equally posited by a social commentator, Tomi Adetomiwa, Chinese
government values the contract and determine the price. The implication of
this is that they can sell something worth N300 for N300 and we don’t have
a choice than to accept. The fact is that the $2billion loan is still in
China. A dime will not leave their economy. The money remain with China.
N1 will not enter Nigeria market from it.
Furthermore, the worst of it is that China want us to pay back the loan in
dollars and not yuan. And we are to move part of our foreign reserve to
Yuan, a currency that is manipulated openly by the Chinese government.
Sometime ago, during the reign of Lamido Sanusi as CBN Governor, China
sold us Yuan at 4 to a dollar, only to devalue their currency few weeks
latter to 9 Yuan per 1 $.
Many Nigerians are presently jubilating not knowing that they are
celebrating their oppressors. Many do not know that even Chinese companies
don’t want yuan. They transact their businesses in dollar. The funniest
part of this scenario is that Chinese foreign reserve is in dollars, not
yuan, yet China want us to move part part of our foreign reserve to Yuan.
What a contradiction! For the records, China, as at today, remain the
largest holder of US bond in the international financial market. I stand
corrected.
I also found out that the republic of China have more lobbyists in
Washington DC, the Capital of United States, than any other nation on the
surface of earth, begging and pleading with Washington political
gladiators to always make policy in their favour. Now, country people, how
can such a country save us from the hegemony of American dollar? Why do we
like to be pushed without questioning the oppressors that are masquerading
as saviors?
The reality is that China will continue to inflate the contract price,
refuse to complete the project and deceive us further. Isn’t funny that
the country (China) whose foreign reserve is domicile in dollar want us to
change part of our reserve to yuan?
Lastly, I don’t blame Chinese leaders for trying to encroach Nigeria, I
blame our leaders for not being smart enough. I blame those interested in
media propaganda than facing the reality. On this note, I posit that only
Nigeria can help Nigerians. The solution to the economic quagmires
militating against Nigeria is not a foreign loan. The more foreign loan we
take the more poorer we become. Nigerian government should implement true
federalism system and make our market economy open and free in all
ramifications. You cannot regulate and deregulate. I so submit.
Adeleye, a young Political Scientist, sent this piece from Magodo, Lagos.
Maxwell_adeleye@yahoo.com
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