Famend economist, Prof Pat Utomi, has claimed that the nation is presently a failure, made worse by the dearth of different pondering to show issues round.
In line with Utomi, the dearth of different pondering was worsened by a complete seize of the legislature and the judiciary, as he described the current Nationwide Meeting because the worst factor that occurred to the nation.
He argued that the Nationwide Meeting, which ought to be the platform for strong debates to show across the nation’s fortunes, had been captured.
Talking with The PUNCH, the economist mentioned Nigeria was a tragic failure as a result of the political class and the elites, notably the authorized elite, are self-centred moderately than pondering of the frequent good of the nation.
Utomi mentioned it was baffling that the Nigerian political class did not recognise that the nation was presently at battle, requiring a battle cupboard the place virtually all people pulls collectively to repair the nation’s issues.
He confused that there was a necessity for the management to sincerely lead by instance, notably chopping down on its lavish way of life, moderately than calling on Nigerians to sacrifice.
“Nigeria is a failure proper now; democracy isn’t working. Everyone knows that; anyone who doesn’t know that’s fooling himself. We have now whole judicial seize; we’ve got legislative seize, so there is no such thing as a different pondering within the nation.
“For me, the worst factor that has occurred to the nation is the Nationwide Meeting as a result of that’s the place it’s best to have the type of debates that may lead you to choices, however you’ll be able to’t as a result of the entire place is captured.
“These guys are simply hustlers making an attempt to get what they will out of the system with out asking what’s going to make the nation work.
“When you might have that type of drawback, you come to the purpose that James Robinson was making when he says a basic instance is Nigeria which is aware of what to do however can’t appear to do it. You want, in a time like this, a sure type of mindset.
“An area instance is Olusegun Obasanjo in 1976/1977 when the oil disaster started to slip. He determined that we’d go to low-profile mode. As head of state, his automobile was a Peugeot 504; he reduce his travels.
“Anyone who watches the way in which individuals in energy spend public assets can’t take severely any assertion that it is a time of sacrifice. So, the issue begins with them. Intense political dedication isn’t there,” he mentioned.
The economist added, “You can’t save an financial system when the political actors are on a binge and you’ll not have the type of penalties that you’ve got at this time for the financial system.
“It’s an intensely political course of to show across the financial system. The Nigerian political class must recognise that we’re in an ethical equivalence of a battle. And when a rustic is at battle, it pulls collectively. Nigerian politicians nonetheless assume they’re on a binge.
“So, they’re all working in numerous instructions, and no one is sitting right down to forge a nationwide consensus on clear up this drawback. When you might have the ethical equivalence of battle, what you want is to arrange a battle room, and battle cupboard and convey all people collectively to say, how will we repair these issues.”
He confused the necessity for intense political will to forge a nationwide consensus to resolve the nation’s issues, as in opposition to politicians stockpiling cash to prosecute their subsequent electioneering quest.
Requested if the adherence of Nigeria to insurance policies of the Worldwide Financial Fund and World Financial institution was a bane of Nigeria’s financial challenges, Utomi mentioned the world our bodies would normally present templates, but it surely was as much as nations to analyse such templates in keeping with their native peculiarities.
He mentioned the problem was whether or not Nigeria deployed the requisite native, mental data to judge IMF templates within the curiosity of the frequent good.
“IMF can have a template, however what’s liable for the end result isn’t their template; it’s how native actors politically stay their method by way of doing the proper issues for progress and improvement for his or her nation. IMF and World Financial institution have gotten it unsuitable many instances; it doesn’t imply that their intention isn’t proper.
“It implies that they only have formulation and it isn’t a precise science. So what’s desperately wanted is for there to be an area, mental capability to judge these templates and act within the curiosity and good of the native surroundings.
“That is the place Nigeria has been a tragic failure as a result of the political class and its elites, notably the authorized elite, haven’t acted as patriots both as a result of they’re ignorant or as a result of they’re too pathologically self-centred to think about the frequent good.”