The presidency in Nigeria says it will not close its eyes to what it calls
\nthe poor performance of the past administration so as not to repeat their
\nmistakes.<\/p>\n
A statement by a spokesman for President Muhammadu Buhari, Mr Garuba
\nShehu, said the economy was broken by the Goodluck Jonathan administration
\nand that Nigerians must bear the pains of fixing it.<\/p>\n
The Friday\u2019s statement is coming few days after it became official that
\nthe oil-rich nation\u2019s economy has glided into recession.<\/p>\n
According to Mr Shehu, the past administration engaged in mismanagement
\nand corruption rather than investing in infrastructure development like
\nseaports, airports, power plants, railways roads and housing, when oil
\nprice was $140 per barrel.<\/p>\n
He also observed that no savings were made by the past administration
\nunlike other countries like Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Norway.<\/p>\n
Other factors which he named that had contributed to the nature of the
\neconomy, include heavy borrowing by the past administration, issues he
\nstressed that past governors of the Central Bank warned the government
\nabout but were ignored.<\/p>\n
He further stated that the past administration could not investigate the
\nmilitary spending, the federal payroll which had over 40,000 ghost
\nworkers, wasteful expenses like first class travel and private jets for
\nofficial trips.<\/p>\n
The President\u2019s spokesman said the present administration was focusing on
\njob creation using agriculture, solid minerals and manufacturing which
\nwere abandoned when oil price was $140 per barrel.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo compound the problem, the previous government was borrowing heavily
\nand owed contractors, and international oil companies. When this
\ngovernment took over we had accumulated debt back to the level it was
\nbefore the Paris Club Debt Forgiveness,\u201d the statement further read.<\/p>\n
Mr Shehu said: \u201cNow that the oil has fallen as low as US$28 per barrel, it
\nis very difficult to do what is needed but they must be done to save
\nNigeria. There is no other way if we want to be honest\u201d.<\/p>\n
He claimed that while terrorism and social unrest were growing, real
\ndevelopment was lacking.<\/p>\n
The spokesman for the President further promised that Nigeria would return
\nto growth in a sustainable manner and expressed optimism that the positive
\nimpact of the work of the Buhari administration would soon begin to show.<\/p>\n
Read full statement below<\/p>\n
WHAT IS PRESIDENT BUHARI DOING WITH THE ECONOMY?<\/p>\n
Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media and Publicity)<\/p>\n
LET me start by asking an important question: who wants to kill racy
\nintrospection?<\/p>\n
There is a cacophony of voices telling the Muhammadu Buhari administration
\nto close its eyes to the past; that given the enormous tasks that lie
\nahead, history and its consequences for our nation should be the least of
\nthe government\u2019s preoccupation at this juncture.<\/p>\n
I disagree. Let us keep a fiery memory of the past so that we don\u2019t repeat
\nits mistakes. Look back, look ahead. The future must of necessity be built
\non the foundations of the past.<\/p>\n
The Conservative Party took power in Britain six years ago from Labour.
\nCheck the British press, they are talking about Labour 24\/7, is anyone
\ncomplaining?<\/p>\n
Japheth Omojuwa, one of Nigeria\u2019s top three influencers seemed tasked in
\nhis patience reacting to calls that we must stop talking about the
\nimmediate past administration in this country. \u201cPeople are still talking
\nabout who ran governments in 1865 you want us to forget those who left
\ngovernment last year? (Expletive)\u201d<\/p>\n
Music icon, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, who many agree was a philosopher
\ndisguised as Afro-musician taught in one of his songs that without knowing
\nwhere you are coming from, you won\u2019t know where you are going. Wise men
\nsay that the empty can doesn\u2019t disappear by simply kicking it down the
\nroad.<\/p>\n
To avoid repeating the past mistakes, Nigerians must come to terms with
\nwhat went wrong with the past, how bad were things, what was done wrongly,
\nwhat the past government should have done, before we come to what needs to
\nbe done to right those wrongs. Believe me, episodes from the Jonathan era
\ncan fill books, and other possibilities such as courtroom drama thriller.<\/p>\n
Against this backdrop, I sought to hear our erudite Finance Minister Kemi
\nAdeosun on where we are coming from, vis-a-vis the administration\u2019s chosen
\npath to recovery and accelerated growth. What is the administration doing
\nto revitalize the economy? She spoke at length on the many measures being
\nput in place, many of which are not glamorous. They of necessity come with
\npain. Why should Nigerians be asked to endure pains? Why should they be
\nasked to make adjustments?<\/p>\n
The simple explanation is that the economy was broken, and just as they do
\nthe broken leg, you must bear the pain of fixing it. The current situation
\nwas caused by years of mismanagement and corruption.<\/p>\n
As explained by President Buhari again and again, trumpeted by Madam
\nAdeosun and other senior officials, we solely relied on oil, the price of
\nwhich was as high as US$140 per barrel. Government simply reticulated oil
\nrevenue through personal spending by corrupt leaders, wasteful expenses
\nand salaries. This was done rather than investing in what would grow the
\neconomy. Economies grow due to capital investment in assets like seaports,
\nairports, power plants, railways, roads and housing. Nigeria has not
\nrecorded a single major infrastructural project in the last 10 years. In
\nshort the money was mismanaged.<\/p>\n
In addition to failing to spend money on what was needed, no savings were
\nmade by Government unlike other countries like Qatar, Saudi Arabia and
\nNorway.<\/p>\n
To compound the problem, the previous government was borrowing heavily and
\nowed contractors, and international oil companies. When this government
\ntook over we had accumulated debt back to the level it was before the
\nParis Club Debt Forgiveness.<\/p>\n
All these factors were building up to Nigeria heading for a major crisis
\nif the price of oil fell. Nigeria did not have fiscal buffers to withstand
\nan oil shock.<\/p>\n
The oil shock should and could have been foreseen. These are matters that
\nboth the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II and Professor Chukwuma Soludo,
\nboth of them eminent former Central Bank Governors had occasions to warn
\nthe government of the day about, but they were clobbered. The dire warning
\nwas written all over the wall, but they were ignored by Nigeria\u2019s economic
\nmanagers.
\nWhat should they have done?<\/p>\n
They should have had the courage and vision to do as the present
\nadministration is doing through the Economic Team, the Ministry of Finance
\nunder Madam Adeosun and the various agencies of the state to envision a
\nbetter future by first of all fighting corruption. Look at what a civilian
\nadministration is today doing to the military, investigating their finance
\nand accounts that the military could not do to themselves.<\/p>\n
See what the current administration is doing sanitize the huge salary bill
\nby eliminating payroll fraud. So far, the federal payroll has been rid of
\nabout 40,000 ghost workers. More than eight billion Naira stolen monthly
\nhas been saved.
\nWe are also saving on wasteful expenses like First Class Travel and
\nPrivate jets for official trips.<\/p>\n
The federal government is not limiting the reforms to the centre but
\nforcing State Governments to reform their spending and build savings or
\ninvestments.<\/p>\n
Government is also increasing spending on capital projects especially on
\ninfrastructure needed to make Nigerian businesses competitive and create
\njobs. The administration is at the same time blocking leakages that
\nallowed government revenues to be siphoned into private hands.<\/p>\n
Currently, there is focus on key sectors (apart from oil) that can create
\njobs and or generate revenue such as Agriculture, Solid Minerals and
\nManufacturing. If these things had been done when the oil price was as
\nhigh as US$140 per barrel, Nigeria would not be in the current
\npredicament. We would not be suffering now if we had no cash reserves but
\nwe had regular supply of power, a good rail system, good roads and good
\nhousing.<\/p>\n
Now that the oil has fallen as low as US$28 per barrel, it is very
\ndifficult to do what is needed but they must be done to save Nigeria.
\nThere is no other way if we want to be honest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The presidency in Nigeria says it will not close its eyes to what it calls the poor performance of the past administration so as not to repeat their mistakes. A…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":52812,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n