The Financial Times, on January 31, 2022, published an article titled “What is Nigeria’s government for?”, where the writer, David Piling stated, “On the British Airways flight between London and Nigeria’s administrative capital of Abuja, one of the airline’s most profitable routes, nearly all the space is taken up with flatbeds. The unfortunate few making their way to a crunched economy section at the back must trudge through row after row of business class.
“Evidently, there is plenty of money to be made in Abuja’s corridors of power. Nigeria’s economy may be flat on its back, but the political elite flying to and from London will spend the flight flat on theirs, too.
“Next year, many of the members of government will change, though not necessarily the bureaucracy behind it. Campaigning has already begun for presidential elections that in February 2023 will draw the curtain on eight years of the administration of Muhammadu Buhari, on whose somnolent watch Nigeria has sleepwalked closer to disaster.
“Buhari has overseen two terms of economic slump, rising debt and a calamitous increase in kidnapping and banditry—the one thing you might have thought a former general could control. Familiar candidates to replace him, mostly recycled old men, are already counting their money ahead of a costly electoral marathon. It takes an estimated $2bn to get a president elected. Those who pay will expect to be paid back.
“There are some promising candidates. If Yemi Osinbajo, the technocratic vice-president, were miraculous to make it through the campaign ticket and emerge as president, the hearts of Nigerian optimists would beat a little faster.
“But that may be to underestimate the depth of Nigeria’s quagmire. The problem is not so much who leads the government as the nature of government itself.
“Nigeria’s administration is fuelled by oil — though not its economy; more than 90 per cent of output is generated from non-oil activities. But for decades, the business of government — whether military or, since 1999, democratic — has been to control access to oil revenues and earn patronage by spreading petrol dollars to federal and state supplicants.
“Outside oil, government raises a petty amount of revenue, proportionally much less than other African states. Since the provision of services is so dire, no one who can afford to pay taxes is willing to do so. Nigerians with money opt out of the system. They send their kids to private school, attend private hospitals, employ their own private security and generate their own power. The state borrows ever more heavily to fund what little capital expenditure there is and service mounting debts. Like a giant leech at the top of the body politic, government is essentially there to fund itself.
“This thwarts the aspirations of millions of highly capable Nigerians. Officials extract “rent” by controlling access to business opportunities. The objective thus becomes to slow down investment not speed it up.
“Almost all the energy, drive and wealth creation in Nigeria happens outside government. New unregulated businesses in the booming tech sector, fashion, design and the creative arts are flourishing. Every day, tens of millions of Nigerians somehow get by, despite the efforts of those supposedly looking out for them.
“As is said of India, Nigeria grows at night while the government sleeps — hardly surprising that some libertarian tech entrepreneurs want the government to withdraw and leave the private sector in charge.
“In reality, the government is not too big. It is too small. The federal budget — not counting money transferred to states — is about $30bn, derisory for a population of more than 200m people. Only trust in government — and a willingness to pay taxes — can redress this balance.
“Nigeria desperately needs an administration whose energies go not into preserving its own privilege but into providing public goods — basic education and health, rule of law, security, power, roads and digital infrastructure. It must remove distortions and subsidies that direct entrepreneurial activity from production to arbitrage.
“The chances of a corrupt system reforming itself are slim. But if Nigeria’s ruling class cannot manage it, any remaining faith Nigerians have in their system of government will evaporate. That way lies disaster.”
Reacting to the report, the presidency in an online statement by the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity, Garba Shehu on Sunday evening condemned Piling for describing the Nigerian government as “a government sleepwalking into disaster” and criticized the publication for leaving out the security gains by the government.
The statement read in part: “We wish to correct the wrong perceptions contained in the article “What is Nigeria’s Government For?” by David Pilling, Financial Times (UK), January 31, 2022.
“The caricature of a government sleepwalking into disaster (What is Nigeria’s government for? January 31, 2022) is predictable from a correspondent who jets briefly in and out of Nigeria on the same British Airways flight he so criticises.
“He highlights rising banditry in my country as proof of such slumber.
“What he leaves out are the security gains made over two Presidential terms.
“The first comprehensive plan to deal with decades-old clashes between nomadic herders and sedentary farmers–experienced across the width of the Sahel–has been introduced: pilot ranches are reducing the competition for water and land that drove past tensions.
“Banditry grew out of such clashes. Criminal gangs took advantage of the instability, flush with guns that flooded the region following the Western-triggered implosion of Libya.
“The situation is grave. Yet as with other challenges, it is one that the government will face down.”
Ezinwanne Onwuka, senior staff reporter and columnist with WAP is a Nigerian-based writer and content developer. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Her interests include reading, writing, researching and graphic designing.
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4 comments
Ebi Asain
February 10, 2022 at 5:01 pm
Wow, wow, see who is writing a rebuttal to a very real scenario on the ground! Garba Shehu, you say? Nonesense! What security gains is the Aso Rock buzz head talking about? On the average, 100 people are kidnapped or killed by bandut-terrorists in Nigeria everyday. And this is happening on the watch of a retired or tired general who promised Nigerians heaven and earth in 2015. After nearly 8 years, true Nigeria has sleep-walked into disaster! What an apt description for crying out loud. Okay, some bogus rice Pyramids were put on show only a few weeks ago. What happened after? The price of rice skyrocketed, the price of other basic items following suit. Abeg, park for corner jare as Nigerians would love to say. The Financial Times only wrote about the tip of an iceberg. The disaster that Buhari brought to Nigeria and the full story is yet to be completely Xrayed.
Sunday Onyewonsa
February 8, 2022 at 6:08 pm
The writer was just out to satisfy his fellow cynics and Garuba Shehu, couldn’t have been more correct. His rejoinder was apt and very plausible. When the West preponderanted North Africa with small and medium arms, what were they thinking, peace? The warped and jaundiced criticsms from a product of neo colonial masters couldn’t have done better than throwing jabs at an economy growing from the ashes of Western induced mental and psychological poverty benefiting his clime. Very shallow and unintelligent balderdash concocted by a cynical mind. Nigeria is an economy that should be allowed to grow. All the monies stolen from this economy are stashed away in Europe and America yet, the schizophrenic writter ommited all of that for want of spewing garbage. His attempt at profiling a race, painting it black is nothing other than emanating from the mind of an enemy of the Nigerian State. He should focus on the scourge of racism, high cost of living in his clime, growing arms strife among the population of Europe and leave Nigeria to grow. No nations of the world is more in debted than America yet, the writer of the garbage left out that and went drooling on an emerging nation. If Nigeria is what he painted, why are his people falling on themselves to visit the most populous black nation in the world? The FG shouldn’t have glorified that incendiary character with its response. The West is envious of Nigeria 🇳🇬 and this we know. Nigeria 🇳🇬 on its way to end the era of being a dumping ground for obsolete goods. This current regime is exiting Nigeria from the woods of western imposed corruption.
The winner of the coming Presidential election will surely improve on the benefits of this regime that has seen reasons to develop our infrastructure and diversifying the economy. How safe is Europe? How safe is the country of year written who has chosen to be silent on the gains on the war against insurgency and banditry? They have come with their negative predictions for Nigeria as they wont to do every approaching transitional elections in the country.
It’s on record that Nigerian forces have arrested White accomplices/mercenaries in the ongoing was on insurgents in the North East making this senseless writer the mouthpiece of the devil.
Sunday Onyewonsa
February 8, 2022 at 5:54 pm
The writer was just out to satisfy his fellow cynics and Garuba Shehu, couldn’t have been more correct. His rejoinder was apt and very plausible. When the West preponderanted North Afric with small and medium arms what were they thinking, peace? The warped and jaundiced criticsms from a product of neo colonial master couldn’t have done better than throwing jabs at an economy growing from the ashes of Western induced mental and psychological corruption benefiting the African continental. Very shallow and unintelligent balderdash concocted by cynic. Nigeria is an economy that should be allowed to grow. All the monies stolen from this economy are stashed in Europe and America yet, the schizophrenic written ommited all of that for want of spewing garbage. His attempt to profile a race, painting it black is nothing other than emanating from the mind of an enemy of the Nigerian State. He should focus on the scourge of racism, high cost living in his clime, growing arms strife among the population of Europe and leave Nigeria to grow. No natikn of the world is more in debt than America yet, the writer of the garbage left of that and went drooling on an emerging nation. If Nigeria is what he painted, why are his people falling on themselves to visit the most populous black nation in the world? The FG shouldn’t have glorified that incendiary character with its response.
Khinde
February 8, 2022 at 11:25 am
Garba Shehu, should be ashamed of his argument that holds no water, what gain has this clueless administration made in security as claimed. We have had more kidnapping case now than before, Bandits have taken over high ways in the North, where as Fulani hearders have taken over major high ways in south kidnapping people for ransom. What clearly wrote about his the corruption, poor governance and high undepthedness of the Nation and the cluelessness of this inept government. I strongly support the writer of the article has this government has failed in all front beyond words