New Media to President Jonathan
The attempts by some individuals to
deemphasize the recent rebasing of the
Nigerian economy as something that should
not be celebrated is most unfortunate as
this is a feat that adds value to every
Nigerian irrespective of religion, region or
political persuasion.
President Jonathan once said "I am loyal to
Nigeria's economy. I don't have accounts or
property abroad. All my children live and
school in Nigeria".
If any of his critics can make that same
boast, let him be the first one to criticize
the rebasing of Nigeria's economy.
Continue...
Never mind that a Chief Economist of the World
Bank, Francisco Ferreira, has said that the
rebasing "had exposed sectors where Nigeria's
economy was recording dynamic growth, and
therefore would be areas of attraction for
investment inflows", unpatriotic politicians would
want us to jettison this expert opinion for their
negative inexpert opinion.
The thing that they fail to understand is that any
Nigerian who discredits the rebasing of Nigeria's
economy is discrediting himself. It was Nigeria's
value that was rebased not the government's
value.
But why should I even be surprised? Many of
those who have been debased politically would
not want Nigeria to be rebased economically. It
is a classic case of misery wanting company.
There is really very little you can do for such folk
other than prescribe psychiatric therapy for the
management of their inferiority complex
because I am not sure that anything is as
damaging to their reputation as their attempt to
spite their country even as they think they are
spitting its leaders.
Nations, institutions and individuals are more
likely to perform at their best if you commend
them when they do well.
Unfortunately, many of these people will ignore
rather than reward good behavior and
performance and find ways to spin good news
into bad in order to condemn.
To these people, I would recommend a principle
I use in raising my kids. I praise them publicly
and scold them privately ensuring that they
grow up having a sense of personal value even
as they adjust their behavior.
The reason I do this is because I have noticed
from experience that when a child is scolded
publicly, bystanders remember the negative
thing the child did and they never forget it even
when the child has matured beyond that
deficiency and even when you as a parent have
forgotten it. People tend to look on themselves
and their children with rose colored glasses and
on others with magnifying glasses.
Similarly, when we condemn Nigeria to the
outside world on Traditional and New Media
platforms, that condemnation sticks to the
minds of foreigners and the foreign media and
they don't see Nigeria as government and
opposition, they just see Nigeria.
Nigerians are irrevocably tied to the value of
Nigeria.
And it is obvious that these nay sayers are
confused because in one breath they claim that
the rebasing of our economy is fiction while in
another they claim that our economic growth is
not a result of any deliberate government policy.
Since the World Bank itself as well as the
Economist Magazine, the Financial Times and
the New York Times have acknowledged that the
rebasing is real, I will now respond to the
desperate allegation that no deliberate policy of
government is responsible for the economic
growth seen in the rebasing.
Now let's get technical.
When Forbes named the Nigerian Minister of
Agriculture, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina as its African
Person of the Year 2013, it was in recognition of
his efforts of reducing Nigeria's food import bill
by $6 billion annually.
This $6 billion which used to go overseas now
circulates within Nigeria adding to our Gross
Domestic Product and lubricating other sectors
of our economy.
Nigeria is now near self sufficient in rice, wheat
and poultry production as a result of the
deliberate action of the government in
eliminating the corruption in the fertilizer
procurement and distribution system, free
distribution of high yield seedlings to farmers
and extension of agricultural loans to small and
medium scale farmers.
That agriculture is now big business in Nigeria
was recently demonstrated when D'Banj, one of
Nigeria's biggest pop stars, bought into the
agriculture business with the launch of 'Koko
Gari'.
Farmers, are making more money and this did
not happen by chance. It is a deliberate policy of
the Federal Government and it is leading to one
of the greatest wealth transfers in Nigeria's
history.
Another deliberate policy that is ensuring wealth
transfer is the liberalization and privatization
policy of the Federal Government. For example,
the recent privatization of the Power Holding
Company of Nigeria, PHCN, achieved two
objectives.
The first objective is wealth repatriation.
Nigerians who had billions of dollars sitting idle in
their foreign accounts repatriated those funds
back to Nigeria to purchase the Transmission
and Distribution companies that were sold
ensuring that those billions now circulate within
Nigeria adding to our Gross Domestic Product.
The second objective achieved is that
government funds which used to be budgeted
annually to those firms are now freed up since
they have been sold and can now be spent on
other priority sectors of the economy further
expanding our GDP.
Moreover, the Backward Integration Policy on
cement by the Federal Government has ensured
that Nigeria has moved from being a net
importer of cement to a net exporter of the
product.
Billions of dollars that were used to import
cement before 2009 are now retained in Nigeria
as well as billions from the sale of Nigerian
cement abroad.
These are deliberate policies for which the
government should be applauded for.
They are the basic principles of elementary
economics that some opposition politicians can
not grasp, yet they want to dislodge President
Jonathan and return Nigeria back to the status
quo. God forbid!
Another example of a deliberate policy
contributing to the expansion of Nigeria's GDP is
the Local Content Bill signed into law by
President Jonathan on April 25, 2010.
As a direct consequence of this law, the oil
majors have been forced to reserve for Nigerian
engineers and technicians jobs that had hitherto
been the reserve of expatriates workers.
They have also been mandated to award
contracts to Nigerian firms that would have gone
to foreign companies prior to the signing of the
Local Content Law.
For example, as a direct consequence of this law,
Royal Dutch Shell PLC awarded a 7.8 billion-naira
($49 million) natural-gas pipeline contract to a
local manufacturer, S.C.C. Nigeria Ltd. This is the
first time such has been awarded to a Nigerian
company.
Also, Mobil Producing Nigeria unlimited, as a
direct result of the Local Content Law, awarded a
multi million dollar contract to Niger Dock Nigeria
PLC to build wellhead platforms. This is the first
time such a contract has been awarded to a
Nigerian firm.
The effect of the Local Content Law is that
hundreds of millions of dollars that would have
hitherto left Nigeria is now retained in Nigeria
swelling our GDP.
Years ago, South Africa was the number one
recipient of Foreign Direct Investment in Africa
but she has since been overtaken by Nigeria
under President Jonathan which according to
the United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD) has been the number
one recipient of FDI in Africa for the past two
years.
Can such a feat happen by accident?
Since the advent of the Jonathan administration,
the education sector has consistently had the
highest sectoral allocation in the Federal
Budget.
Nigerians now have access to education in
record numbers (though more still needs to be
done).
Twelve new universities have been built in
fulfillment of what President Jonathan said that
"crude oil is not out "Black Gold". The real "Black
Gold" of Nigeria are her people and they can
grow in value via education".
This is why Nigerians pay very affordable tuition
fees at Federal Universities when compared to
the exorbitant fees charged by state universities
in the opposition controlled APC states.
How sad that those who enjoyed free education
have now become purveyors of expensive
education.
It is this focus on education and industry that
has increased the capacity of the average
Nigerian for enterprise and thrift which has
resulted in the expansion of our economy.
The President's daughter recently got married to
her hearth throb and everything about the
marriage was done in Nigeria. It is such patriotic
actions of Nigerians spending their money in
Nigeria that makes Nigeria grow.
But of course, people who travel abroad to
celebrate even their birthdays will not know that
our economy is expanding.
How could they, when their children, accounts,
property and minds are overseas. It then
become easy for them to overlook what is
happening in Nigeria.
Reno,
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