Like most Nigerians of my age, I’ve never really been a big fan of
economic theory.The subject seems so complicated, so diverse and, often,
so violent. It astonished me for a long time that revolutions could
rise and governments could fall on economic theories. Yet, as I would
grow to understand, economics is a very real and functional aspect of
individual human activity.
I think of my own economic development in three stages. My first stage
was one of indifference. I was introduced to the subject in the form a
secondary school course “Economics” whose periods I dreaded partly
because the teacher had a fine habit of sending students out to kneel
under the noonday sun on the slightest provocation and partly because,
no matter how hard I tried, my brain always had some difficulty
distinguishing between the supply curve and the demand curve. At that
stage, economics was not my concern. It was, instead, the business of
the teacher who seemed more willing to flog us than to carry us along.
As I had a healthy aversion to being flogged, I simply did with
economics what she advised that we do with economics, that is, to shut
up and listen to her teach it.
I managed to pick a few words and phrases, from those sweaty and tiring classes: ceteris paribus,
equilibrium, and that, like university students at a weekend party,
some things go high while some things go low.I also learnt that when it
came to the task of educating young West African students on arcane
academic theories, both supply and demand were lacking.
My second stage of economic development was a matter of survival. I was
in university then and I had the challenging task of managing my rather
scarce monthly allowance against the unlimited wants that were the
social and academic life of the University of Lagos. Since I could not
satisfy all my wants and remain honest, I was forced to draw up a budget
using a scale of preference, and I learnt how to borrow reasonably
against my allowance from home. Although I use these economic
terminologies now, the truth is economics was the last thing on my mind
then. I was just trying to get along without disgracing my family and
myself.
This second stage is usually enough economic development for people with
access to family wealth—and people who lack a sense of shame. They can
build a reasonable life by collecting rents or handouts. Depending on
your ethical philosophy, you could consider this as either a good or a
bad lifestyle. But, I would say it is bad if that lifestyle is dependent
on looting other people.
Luckily (or unluckily) for me, I moved to a third stage of economic
development. This was the stage where my income was tied to my ability
to be of use — that is, my productivity. In any case, I had little
choice in this matter. My parents had already stopped giving me money as
soon as I was enrolled into national service. Years after this, I would
also learn that my productivity was not a fixed quality; it could
increase or reduce with the bonus that the higher my productivity, the
more likely my earnings.
Today, I am still not a fan of poring over economic theories, but I have
come to understand that individual economic development is tied to
individual productivity.
Which is why it alarms me when it seems that our political leaders
cannot seem to grasp this simple fact when it comes to the national
economy. To our political leaders, economic policy is an issue of
revenue generation for the government: if Nigeria produced 2.5m barrels
of oil per day in 2015, how can we make it 2.7 in 2016?
But I think of national economic policy this way: If Ada, the tailor,
sewed two hundred dresses in 2015, what can the government do to enable
her to sew 250 dresses in 2016? If John, the agro-trader, sold fifty
baskets of mangoes in 2015, what can the government do to enable him to
sell 70 baskets in 2016?
This is because the growth of a national economy is tied to the capacity
of individual citizens to increase their production. Economic growth is
not, as the president suggested in Riyadh last week, tied to the
capacity of the government to generate more money from agriculture or
mining. Really, this is just the equivalent of school students on an
allowance thinking up new ways to squeeze their parents for money. Yes,
government revenue (and the Almighty Federal Budget) may be tied to this
type of increment—but that is merely Stage 2 economic development.
What would be quite pleasant is for President Buhari to demonstrate his
familiarity with the workings of a productive economy by defining
productivity beyond rent-collecting terms—more taxes, more oil, more
agriculture, more mining—and by actually initiating policies that ease
the cost of doing business, delivering services and conducting trade.
For example, by: connecting trading communities, identifying and
reducing administrative roadblocks, and reducing government control of
productive resources.
More importantly, the government has to carry Nigerians along right to the grassroots level.
If increasing the production of Nigerians is the overall economic goal,
then communicating this process to Nigerians is very important. Yet, it
seems President Buhari doesn’t understand that he owes Nigerians—not
other Africans, Americans, Arabs, Europeans,or just Ms Adeosun and Mr
Emefiele—some communication. He may not necessarily owe us an
explanation for the state of the economy—the economy and the naira had
already started its downward turn under the Jonathan administration—but
he owes all Nigerians communication on his economic goals: do we have a
six-month plan? Do we have a 10-year plan? Do we have any plan?
And if there is a plan, can we understand it, debate it and participate
fully in its execution? Why is there an unnecessary aura of secrecy
around fundamental national issues? What is it with this odd style of
presidential-only economics?
But, I fear President Buhari is quite like my secondary school Economics
teacher: charged with the handling of the subject but lacking in the
ability to carry the students along. Maybe, the solution is a regression
to economic stage one: indifference.
That is, shut up and watch the president do economics.
Caveat: Opinion does not reflect that of VC Ezems Blog
Caveat: Opinion does not reflect that of VC Ezems Blog
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PLEASE BE POLITE