Building the future by respecting the past

NIGERIA is at a juncture where it must redefine itself or forever forfeit the right of way to a better future. The primary challenge of our time is our political economy. The slump in oil prices exposed the weakness of our economy for even the blind to see. The truth be told, we always knew this weakness existed. Yet we did nothing to cure it when fixing the gap would have been less painful and less urgent. Through indifference, selfishness or ignorance we failed to forge a consensus on how to resolve the collective problem. This failure speaks to a problem of our politics because the decision on how to structure the economy is essentially political in nature. For all the energy invested in politics, the output has been minimal. In short, our politics has been directed at the wrong things. Because of this, Nigeria has too long travelled a self-defeating economic road.

Dare not think that we can afford to sit idly and outwait the low oil prices. We cannot fool ourselves into believing that the prices will rebound to prior levels and things will return to normal.

My friends, that normal many of us pine for was never good enough. It was simply the prelude to the troubles of today and the challenges of tomorrow. To merely wait as if waiting is all we can do is to be like the wishful man who does nothing although he knows a great storm approaches and he has a gaping hole in the roof of the house he just bought. He concludes the rain will not enter his house because such a thing would be unfair since the hole was caused by the mischief of the former owner and not by his own hand. Some might call this man’s belief one of undue optimism. Others might deem it foolhardy. Either way, it is costly, perhaps fatal. The impersonal forces of the economy owe us nothing that we do not doubly owe ourselves. We must break from the inertia that has characterised our approach to major national problems. We need to summon a greater love of our fellow Nigerians. Such empathy will compel us to embrace ideas to reform the political economy in a manner that lends greater justice and prosperity to all Nigerians. Then we must have the courage not only to envision the beautiful thing. We must have the bravery to embark on the hard work and progressive reforms needed to turn the fine dream into a living and material reality.

Our economy has been one where too many people and resources were left idle and thus made poor by virtue of this static predicament. Joblessness or poverty became the byword describing the lives of most people. The industrial base we were developing vanished under a torrent of imported goods. Agricultural production was insufficient to satisfy our needs. Even then, much local produce was allowed to rot on the vine or in transit due to poor farm-tomarket physical and financial infrastructure. The harder a farmer worked, the poorer he became. The more a city resident looked for a job, the more frustration overlook him for not finding one. The businessman who wanted to invest in a factory to create jobs and goods found that interest rates and high production costs due to erratic power would turn his balance sheet crimson and were foes too strong for him to overcome. While the productive sectors of the economy floundered, the rentier and financial sector flourished. Those fortunate enough to have access to high finance, made windfall profits merely by virtue of being in the so-called right place at the right time. They did nothing of true economic value. They simply funneled money from one hand to the other. At the expense of the rest of the nation, they profited handsomely from this financial juggling act. The economy became an ungainly and unbalanced albatross. Any growth in the economy only compounded the distorting instead of curing them. The fall in oil prices exposed this economic model for the lie that it was. Now we must fashion a new political economy. In due course, the present recession will end. This should come as some relief. In itself, however, it is not cause for celebration. Far from it. The end of recession does not mean the beginning of prosperity. If we conflate the two, we will shun the labor required to properly reform the political economy. Things will remain as they are. Repeated downdraft and contraction will chase us as surely as night chases day and day chases night. At this point, I want to offer a few suggestions on how to reshape our political economy in ways that respond to the needs and aspirations of those Nigerians who have been long neglected and made to suffer the bitter dividends of a mercenary system.

The Constitution declares Nigeria a federation of 36 states. However, we still grapple with the vestiges of our past under military rule. In many ways, we still function like a unitary state despite the constitution. More powers and resources need to devolve to the states. The Federal Government is taking on too much. We cannot flourish with over concentration of powers at the centre. Some of the 68 items on the Exclusive Federal List should be transferred to the Residual List, as it was in most federal constitutions.

A notable feature of even our own 1963 Constitution was the extensive powers granted to the regions which enabled them to carry out their immense responsibilities as they best saw fit. This was because the regions inherently had a better sense and feel for the needs of their populations simply by virtue of the fact that they were closer to the people than was the centre.

Some items which ordinarily should be state matters like police, prisons, stamp duties, taxation of incomes, profits and capital gains, regulation of tourist traffic, registration of business names, incorporation of companies, traffic on federal truck roads passing through states, trade, commerce and census among others were transferred from the Concurrent to the Exclusive List. I’m opposed to federalism operated as a unitary monster. As Lagos State governor, I challenged several Federal Government decisions for overreach and for violating the principles of federalism. We created additional local governments because the constitution empowers states to regulate local council affairs. Today, those 37 additional councils have helped Lagos significantly as development centres. We took the Federal Government to court on issues like the regulation of the hospitality industry, fiscal planning, and on who had the authority to issue Certificates of Occupancy. Regarding electrical power, we must move beyond limiting states to generate, transmit and distribute electricity to areas not covered by the national grid.

Our problem is a lack of power yet we preclude states from helping to resolve this chronic problem that stabs at the very heart of economic development. It is not right to say states can generate power but cannot sell it where they want. Without yielding any countervailing benefit, this policy suppresses the generation of needed power instead of enhancing.

Tinubu, former governor of Lagos State and national leader of APC delivered this at the 91st anniversary of Daily Times.