Opinion
By Nwachukwu Chukwuemeka
IT is no longer news that Nigeria is going through the worst economic and political party instability since 1999, where families are being turned apart due to widespread poverty, depression, unemployment, and devaluation of their standard of living and political parties are facing internal instability in leadership organigram.
The removal of fuel subsidies on May 29, 2023, had created catastrophic instability that has disrupted everything in Nigeria. The multiple policies of fuel subsidy removal, flotation of our currency and devaluation of the naira have added no value to the intended economic stability, but have distorted every fact about its objective and intentions of those who claimed that they were prepared for this post for more than 30 years has become more confusing than they anticipated.
In their boastful braggadocio, they claimed that devaluation of the naira, floating of our currency and subsidy removal would bring investors from every nook and cranny of the world, and the certainty in projecting their intentions had made a mess of every reason because they have added over 40 million people into multidimensional poverty, unemployment and depression. The security and welfare of the people is the primary aim of government and a situation where the citizens are treated like disposables is not only demonic but dehumanizing.
The most common maxim in economics is ceteris paribus, meaning “all else being equal, the people who work for the World Bank work in an environment where the government provides every basic infrastructure needed for development and if there is any lack, or reduction in its quality and quantity the people would ask the leader to resign. They reside in an environment where the rule of law is paramount and the supremacy of the constitution is top-notch. They live in an environment where those in government are servants of the people and not in a place where one man or few individuals are the owners of the country and they could afford to make people rich or poor without any repercussion. They therefore do not understand poverty, lack, or hopelessness. Their brand of governance and understanding of democracy is government of the people and for the people, unlike here, where the people are just like instruments or apparatus for convenience of those at the corridors of power. They live in an environment where every penny accruing or expended by the government is accounted for to the last Kobo. This is just the background of those who have been imported to find solutions to the anger of native gods and traditions without the inputs of the locals. They came with an imported solution that works in a demography that is well crafted to ensure that 99% of citizens data are captured and every policy that affects them is organised according to their strata and segments. They do not need to conjure figures as statistics because the data for such is available. They do not need to worship any leader before he offers the duty he was elected to provide.
This is the background and those who supply them with economic patterns could therefore predict the outcome, unlike ours, where the government does not know the demography or the needs of those they purport to rule. It is not surprising that the removal of fuel subsidies, which they claimed would have offered solution to our economic development, has ended up destroying the same economy they intended to protect. It is therefore not surprising that the devaluation of the naira that ought to increase exports has destroyed the productive capabilities of the country so much so that most multinationals have left in droves because of the purchasing power of the people owing to the high cost of basic necessities.
The floating of the Naira has caused unmitigated instability in our currency and made it impossible for traders and manufacturers to be able to predict the cost of goods and services or their profit margin. The policy is indeed killing Nigeria installmentally because the input and output are no longer predictable.
It is akin to applying the wrong medication to a sick and dying individual. When those who are suffering from illnesses like ulcers, diabetes and hepatitis begin to take a lot of pepper, sugary things, and high quantities of red meat, it will only exacerbate their situation or lead to death. They are policies for developed countries and underdeveloped countries. There are policies that are applicable in wartime and those in peacetime. Applying policies meant for developed countries by the developing country will result in more poverty, insecurity, hunger and death, as we are currently witnessing in the country.
Economics is the study of mankind in the ordinary business of life. – Alfred Marshall. Economics is the science that studies human behavior as a relationship between ends and scarce means that have alternative uses. Lionel Robbins was a British economist and prominent member of the Department of Economics at the London School of Economics. He defined economics as a science that studies human behavior as a relationship between ends and scarce means that have alternative uses. Economics as a social science goes far beyond the analysis of numbers and market mechanisms. It involves understanding how individuals and groups make decisions, how markets interact with social structures and how policies impact society at large. Whether it’s studying how inflation affects daily choices, how the housing market contributes to inequality, or how climate policies balance environmental and social goals, economics is deeply embedded in the fabric of society. Its role as a social science helps to connect abstract models and theories with the real-life challenges and opportunities that shape our world.
It is in relation to this that most economics proponents come with the caveat “all things being equal.
What does the phrase all other things being equal mean?
or all things being equal phrase. If you say ‘other things being equal’ or ‘all things being equal’ when talking about a possible situation, you mean if nothing unexpected happens or if there are no other factors that affect the situation.
This caveat is what those liberal conservatism that lack the capability and understanding of the Nigerian situation consulted for its solution have as defence. Sadly, our government failed to understand the caution.
There is no way a foreign doctor will do better than the local doctors in treating local illnesses like malaria because he was not trained for such , and vice versa. It is in view of the analogy above that I so much believe that the current policies of Tinubu are meant to cause mass poverty and turn Nigerians into beggars and hopelessness.
The alarming rate of death caused by hunger, diseases, unemployment, suicide, depression, and others has gone to the highest height without any solution in sight. The policy of the current government has really wiped out the benefits of our democracy and urgent reversal needs to be done before we become a failed state.\
A.I
Oct. 21, 2024
Tags: Nwachukwu Chukwuemeka
