Are you satisfied with how the present administration is handling the economy?

 

No I am not. There are so many reasons to it, but one of the foremost would be that of mal-administration by the ousted administration. A particular party ruled the nation for 16 years and I believe that whatever the party thought and felt it was doing for the benefit of Nigerians was a glorious and wonderful idea, until the present administration came to the fore; thereby exposing how devastating the past administration destroyed the nation, making the present administration look like it’s not doing anything positive, whereas it is trying to remedy the debilitating factors responsible for the destruction of the present economy by the past administration but still, I feel it ought to do more for the betterment of its citizenry. With better infrastructure in all ramifications, constant and stable electricity, potable water and most importantly, job opportunities for the youths. The present

administration is still behind in a whole lot of things, but I believe strongly that it will rectify all these problems and stabilise the economy of the nation.

 

It is quite glaring that the economic situation of the country is facing a downturn and this has affected a lot of numerous things. The high cost of commodities and even cost of services is becoming unbearable for a large number of people in the country. As a student, managing the allowance I get from home is tasking because I have to cut down on a lot of things so I won’t be insensitive to the plights of my parents. The downturn also has made companies cut down on their staff strength, while many others have refused to recruit due to high cost of maintenance; the unemployment rate is daily increasing and cost of living is not getting better.

The present administration seems to be doing more on paper, than improving the quality of living of its citizens. There are lots of reports of people dying and many at the brink of death because of what the poverty level the economy has subjected many to. Also, there are state governments who can’t afford to pay the salaries of their workers and many other states pay half percentage of the salaries due to their workers and these are parents who have to fend for the children as well as pay school fees. The present administration is not doing enough to overturn the economic situation and the dissatisfaction of the citizens is growing daily.

My advice to the government is that monies should be disbursed to ensure all pending projects are completed; contracts should be awarded to allow free flow of money; the money recovered should be swiftly put into good use, while schemes that can create employment for the youths should be introduced. The naira should be devalued if that will be the solution to the high exchange rate, and there should be a complete overhaul of the economic team.

 

There is no satisfaction yet because the economy is not only worse but unbearable for everyone in the country. Is it the high price of commodities in the market, naira devaluation; the economy is absolutely poor and its calls for urgent attention. I must admit that the move by the Acting President, Yemi Osinbanjo who is ready to work round the clock to fix the economy by spearheading formation of the economic team, which has not less than five serving ministers, is a right move in the right path and it is commendable at this crucial time.

 

 

 

 

The economy under the present administration comes with mixed feelings. I am satisfied with the drive towards securing the treasury with the Treasury Single Account, the fight against financial crimes and securing our pipelines to make sure

that income leakages through pipeline vandalism are reduced to the barest minimum. However, what the government is doing in this short term to address our current economic woes is not clear to us; inflation and unemployment rates are at record high, prices of commodities have tripled in the last three quarters and we are yet to see any feasible clear part to recovery. Also in the area of the money market; interest rates have been on the rise and loans have become unbearable. It is worthy to note that high interest rate has an adverse effect on small medium enterprise (SMEs) and any economy which its policies does not support SMEs will die a natural death.

 

 

Nigeria is going another way around recession and it has caused so much harm than good in the country. The removal of fuel subsidy which has been the basis of this recession can’t be better until there is amendment. This administration needs to inflate the tyres that were low on air pressure, grease those bearings that need to be oiled so that we don’t grind to a halt just like we are in now. Our country is in shambles, the people can hardly feed and the naira has crashed over the dollar. The recovered monies from looters, where has it gone into? This is not the change we clamoured for because this is purely wickedness to humanity.

 

 

Anyone with a right thinking mind looking at the economic indices of Nigeria in 2017 cannot give a positive response to the state of the Nigerian economy for now. With the naira at 530 to a dollar and the economy in recession, one cannot say that the economy is doing well. The government should do more, particularly the National Economic Council led by the Vice President and other seasoned technocrats like.

Government is aware that Nigerians are suffering under the weight of the economy with prices skyrocketing and wages remaining the same and in some instances being slashed because organisations cannot afford to pay salaries. The leaders of the country owe her citizens the duty to bring them out of recession and assure them of security and welfare. I feel what this administration needs to do to move the country forward is to  strengthen agricultural cooperatives at the local government levels as well as the Ward/Area Councils in the Federal Capital for provision of loans, extension services, lands for farming and equipment to the youths with those qualified for it; encourage mechanized agriculture and training/extension; provide fertilizers and other chemicals for farmers, create markets and quotas for exports that is required from local governments and encourage small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs). I believe these few actions can provide a level of cushion for Nigerians at such a time as this; export can assist in reordering the naira and create a favourable balance of trade, which has potential to lift the country out of the current recession.

 

Most people blame the current predicament on present administration that it was the leader who earlier promised ‘change’ that made things turn out like this but we have forgotten that this problem emanated from overreliance on a single major export product (oil), abnormal taste for foreign product and inability to hold accountable to better monetary management which lead to devaluation of naira and made present inflation within the country unbearable. It will be worrisome to compare a bag of rice that used to be 8,000 naira then to 23,000 now and a bag of cement which was N1,000 to N2,300 and unfortunately the palm oil which we produce here goes for N8,500 per five litres.

Electricity would have contributed to the development of the economy but this present administration is not doing well in that area. Though the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) has been privatised and there is no significant difference in terms of the supply but it can be regulated with policy and monitoring in case of any deviance from agreement.

 

No because they are not in control of the economy, the problem is not the inflation the country is going through at the moment but the problem is about the people in power. If a nation is not in control of its economy, it will definitely suffer the masses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This present administration would have been the best administrative that Nigeria would have had but it is a pity they have failed in so many ways, among these numerous ways I will only emphasize on the area of the price of food. In a developed and a capitalist society, government do regulate the quality and the price of goods and services. Nigerian government has failed totally in regulating the quantity and price of these services because prices have soared and the quantity has fallen; even the food produced here in Nigeria has been inflated because everyone is complaining about the amount of dollar which is not meant to be so. This is where this administration needs really to sit up and take action.

 

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