BUILD EDO ECONOMY AND NIGERIA ECONOMY WILL REBOUND – Washington Osa Osifo, Ph.D

BUILD EDO ECONOMY AND NIGERIA ECONOMY WILL REBOUND

Washington Osa Osifo, Ph.D

Populism has become the common shelter for political apostates and accidental leaders caught in an ideological quandary.  It is doubtless that conventional politics has largely failed to deliver for the people. And this has resulted in widespread frustration and despair with mainstream politics and ideologies. Political opportunism is rife in circumstances of festering confusion but Nigerians must be alerted and sternly warned against the ministration of outright demonism and atavistic savagery under the pretext of patriotism by a political apostate. Indeed, his brutal and hubristic demeanour while delivering his devastating jab is a rebuttal to any claims to genuine concerns. He chuckled in swooning mockery of government and lashed on in caustic and provocative bluntness and pointedly to unsettle the powers that be.

Let it be noted that such unrestrained outbursts targeted against benefactors are characteristic of Governor Obaseki. It comes once in a while. When a man finds himself in a high position of power unprepared and ungrounded in the principles and norms, and in the dignity of the office, he is bound to resort to a rebellious form of populism and unorthodox behaviour in search of public approval. Edo State political elites have grown a thick skin and indifferent to the antics of a laundered image on the saddle of power. He would rather savor the grandeur of his executive powers and deploy every mussel of it in the service of hubris than conscientiously implement the smart recommendations of his countless multi-billion Naira talk shops to transform the economy of Edo State. He campaigned and was elected to office in 2016 on the anvil of the promise to create 200,000 jobs, attraction of massive investment in agriculture, the transformation of Edo State into an industrial hub,  continuity of infrastructural development etc. But since coming to office, his vision has become blurred, his sense of purpose dulled and his plans quixotic and impracticable!

The Central Bank of Nigeria like her counterparts globally is saddled with the management of the Nigerian economy. While it is a mark of courage to be a whistleblower in the manner that Governor Obaseki did recently, it could have been more impactful if the Governor had raised the alarm in a meeting of the National Economic Council composed of state Governors, the Minister of Finance and the Governor of Central Bank under the leadership of the Vice President. Governors have great responsibility such as ensuring that nothing is done to paint the Nigerian economy negative before the World because it will have a backlash. And more importantly, the Governor has unfettered access to both the Minister of Finance and the Central Bank Governor, both of whom could engage him in a more productive conversation on his concerns, were they genuine. But he chooses to blow the whistle on rooftops because his intentions were not right and ennobling.

Governor Obaseki has spent five years as Governor of Edo State. By his own assessment, Edo State is generously endowed with human and natural resources. He would constantly add, in what has turned out to be self-indictment, that the advantage of occupying strategic location being gateway to the south, east and north as well as being the center of national critical infrastructures make Edo State a potential economic giant. He came to office in 2016 amidst fears of a possible devastating economic slide due to the world economic recession. The Nigerian economy has in the last couple of decades been in bad shape due to economic mismanagement and corruption. That fact is well known and needs no belabouring. Nigerians have anxiously importuned sub-national leaders to do their bit to engender a change of narrative. What a great relief it will bring to Nigerians to usher in an era when Governors will hit the headlines on account of developmental milestones achieved. It will indeed bring a bundle of joy to see increased production achievements, increased pace of infrastructural development and a drastic reduction in unemployment figures. And it will have an instant positive impact on the national economy. The nation will bounce back sooner than expected! That is exactly what Nigerians want to see happen!

Five years of governance is time enough to demonstrate capacity and competence beyond rhetorics. It is time enough for Obaseki to commission pyramids of maize bags and pyramids of rice bags ready for local and foreign markets as outcomes of productive policies and programs. Ditto for other grains and tree crops in which Edo has a competitive advantage. Build Edo economy or any State economy and you will be building the national economy. Indeed, it is high time to have delivered on Edo economy in a manner that should be visible to the blind. Results will be self-evident if there are marked increases in the number of farms and farmers in our land. It will be self-evident in the market place if surpluses are recorded in the production of maize, rice and other crops in the state. When there are new products, whether raw or value-added, the market place will tell the stories over and above convoluted statistics at media briefings.

But Obaseki has spent five years as Governor boondoggling, collecting federal allocations and borrowing massively to finance endless talk shops and routine governance. While campaigning, he had promised to expand Edo State economy from a budget of about N125 billion to a minimum of about N300 billion during his tenure in office. He promised Edo people that he will vigorously pursue an aggressive agripreneur programme, that will provide jobs for 200,000 people within the agricultural value chain, an industrial development program that will be fed with the needed raw materials sourced from expanded agricultural activities and the expansion of the State tax base by bringing new corporate institutions and thousands of new employees into the tax net. That was the mandate given to him by the Edo electorate in 2016!

The most deliberate and salutary effort towards the accomplishment of these lofty goals remains his successful tour of world economic capitals, hunting for investors in the first three years of his tenure. Indeed, during the period in question, MOUs were signed under glitz and the development of Benin River Port was top priority and popularized by the Governor himself. It seemed every kobo of government was deployed towards making it happen. And everyone anxiously and excitedly looked forward to when work would earnestly commence on the project. The best event that raised hopes so palpably high on the project was when the Governor sponsored an investment team from China to the state and organized an exhibition boat ride through the river in the name of inspection of the project site. What a jolly vacation boat ride for the Chinese, not minding that some of their citizens had been reduced to street maize roasters in parts of East Africa. Another significant event that signalled great hope was when the Governor kindly invited the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osibanjo to perform a groundbreaking ceremony in the outskirts of Benin City on Sapele Road for the commencement of the building of an Industrial Park. At the time of the event, the Governor claimed that several industrial concerns were in the wings waiting to take up space for immediate development at the Park. It is about three years after that epoch-making event, and the industrial Park site is hardly recognizable as it has been taken over by weeds.To date, the Governor has continued to keep hope alive about his plan to develop the state with inspiring empty rhetorics and plans well laid out on paper!

Apart from the abysmal failure in rebuilding the Edo economy through agripreneur and industrialization, critical social services are haphazardly articulated and are in a state of paralysis; infrastructures and services in the health sector are delivering the minimum level of services to the people. Make no mistake about it, Governor Obaseki’s policies are as usual good on paper but largely not implemented to deliver exciting impact. In education, reforms in primary education are fantastic on paper. The program was given far more publicity and hyping than it deserved in last few years. It is a classical case of technocratic confusion but for the operators, it has not failed to be a conduit pipe for available funds. The quality of instruction is still ill-thought-out and it is feared that those who will pass out from the experiment may be of poorer quality. A team of private educational assessors have delivered a damning report on the program. Since the beginning of the second term, the program has lost verve and steam. Secondary education and infrastructure have practically been abandoned.

And more shockingly, Governor Obaseki’s attitude towards tertiary education conveys a feeling of nonchalance and non-committal. Some of them have been closed down and the staff shabbily disengaged. There seems to be no hope of re-opening them in the immediate future. Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, has practically been left to fend for itself and no one seems to be listening to their suppressed yet vociferous entreaties. Needless to refer to other sectors of the economy. A drive through the roads in Benin City will show that Governor Obaseki has not even been able to maintain the green areas created to beautify the City. The flowers on the median strip and on both sides of the dualize roads are overgrown and taken over by weeds as no flowers are replanted.

While it is legitimate for Obaseki and any other Governor for that matter, to raise concerns on the downward slide of the economy, it must be realized that the governance space in Nigeria is largely in the hands of sub-national authorities – the Governors. They should take their jobs seriously! If a Governor develops a sound economic blueprint and prudently deploy resources of the state to scrupulously implement the plan to deliver concrete results, such a Governor will not go unnoticed for creating oasis of green pastures. Indeed, sub national authorities could cause a total turn around of the national economy, if they are made to sit up to do their bit! A few States are rising to the challenges of production except that underhand deals resulting to financial hemorrhage of the states has remained a big drag!

Put succinctly, where federal government have been clumsy, state governments could excel to cancel the failure of the former. Without glorifying ineptitude at any level, the logic is pretty straight; and that is, that the economy of the thirty-six states plus Abuja invariably constitutes the economy of Nigeria. So, let the state Governors go to work and build a robust economy for their various states. Every state in Nigeria has something to sustain its economy be it agriculture or solid mineral. Let Obaseki focus on building a robust Edo economy driven by agriculture and solid minerals. Edo has arable land for cultivation. Edo has solid minerals including large deposits of gold, crude oil, gas, bitumen etc. The Governor has so much to profitably direct his attention. If he does heed my patriotic appeal, Edo will be saved the embarrassment of pseudo-intellectual meddlesomeness and needless public opprobrium!

It must be stressed that when a sitting Governor rely on blackmail and propaganda to hoodwink the electorates for a second term, then, the currency fillibusting and grandstanding can be understood. It is shameful that the Governor whose” emptiness “in economic and financial matters is now common knowledge, chose to dabble into an unfamiliar terrain. No amount of rhetorics and sound bites can cover up this gaff. What we expect is that he would channel his energies towards assembling his cabinet (if any) and get serious with the business of government. The endless search for “distractions”, will not work anymore.

Washington Osa Osifo, Ph.D
Benin City,
Edo State.