We Have Been Beguiled And Hoodwinked By The Free Riders By S.A Odunuga

• Are we in economic recession or financial recession? Are the rich in economic recession or the poor? Is the government captured in the recession analysis? Answers to these questions have not been sufficiently provided to many Nigerians who may want to know.

 And to those who are puzzled as to why the acclaimed gravious"economic recession" should skew towards the plebeians as though it is synonymous to public offices that are usually lopsided in the current administration.

The preferable way, i ween,to describe the current mess might be to call it a"financial crisis" rather than"economic recession" and i will state my theses as i move on.

Government is about"trust". We claim to be in a dire economic recession and the estacodes keep flowing(remember not in Naira but $,€,£,etc.). A retinue of political appointees still go in their large numeric values to New York spending the money that is not available.

The finance minister and her"injection" and/or "pumping money" rhetorics should be investigated. The other day it was close to or above #500 billion that was said to have been released for capital project so far. Last month, August, #510.270 billion was shared by the FG, States and Local Governments. In August #493.828 billion was shared according to the finance minister. Are we sure the monies are not being cached somewhere in tandem with spartan lifestyle of the president.Thereby, seeing us as his primary school sons and daughters who he must release mazuma to bit by bit as situation warrants it?

My reason for believing that the issue largely depends on finance than economy is that, two different monetary policies were adopted almost at the same time by two different authorities: the FG, on the one hand, mopping funds available to banks; thereby reducing lending capacities of the banks, and the CBN, on the other hand, adopting her own interest rates and damming FX policy.

 Invariably money was taken away from the circulation unconsciously by the FG via TSA. And since financial institutions are the key players in the operation of FX( whether accessing $,£,€,¥ or selling them) the situation aggravated.

We talk about diversifying the economy. This may not be achieved without sufficient revenue from oil and gas as the sector is the cash cow of Nigerian economy as at today.

Nigeria derives 95 per cent of export earnings and 70 per cent of government revenue from oil sector(.....see Federal Ministry of Budget and Planning form information). Opting for peace in the Niger Delta region is sine qua non to diversification because the nation cannot diversify on nothing. The nation needs dinero from oil and gas to do so.

Rather than strategising on how to make a turn around in the tourism industry. The honourable minister is engrossed in a programme meant to shift responsibilities of government to the people. In 2015, 8.28 M international guests visited UAE. In 2016, the figure is already 8.37 M visitors with the yer still running.(Dpt.of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, Dubai).

In UAE, just a bit lower than in Nigeria, oil and gas contributed 25% to the GDP. The country was quick enough to diversify the economy by developing her tourism sector, transformed the maritime sector , business environment,and many more. Low oil prices gave a compulsion on UAE government to cut down social spending.(see details from CIA).

However, it possesses sufficient national assets to cover its deficits(BoP, BoT,etc.). Same assets that could serve as the nation's today's wealth and/or tomorrow's wealth for the future generation of Nigerians are advised to be sold off. What a nation! Eat all today and empty the future!

The nation is said to be in economic recession and about 108 delegates still went to New York. There is economic recession and the humongous expenditures of the NASS and the Federal government remain unchanged! Perhaps the much said "economic recession"is peculiar to the poor. Only poor Nigerians are in economic crisis because money was taken away from the circulation.
That is"scarcity of fund".In another word, financial crisis. The money keeps flowing at the top and among those at the top but conspicuously scarce at the bottom.

A governor of a state, few months ago, just bought multi-million naira security cars acclaimed to be for the security of the state. However, another set of about or above one hundred cars are to be purchased at $12 million for political appointees now. Are we in economic crisis in a real term? What a clear case of "economic recession"!

Nigerians need to be told the truth. The government deliberately hoard funds and make the people suffer under the pretext that the last four years were too bad by over dramatising it.

I don't want to sound as another gasbag. I choose to hold my breath here for a while. Nigeria will be great again. It is a matter of good leadership.

God bless Nigeria.

Ire oooo!

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BY S.A ODUNUGA