The Buhari-led APC government which took over mantle of leadership from the now opposition party, PDP, last year, precisely May, has frequently blamed the current economic woes of the country on past administrations, especially the immediate past Jonathan’s administration.
However, arguments as to what PDP would have done about the current economic situation which the APC-led government is not doing or has not done rather x-rayed some economic solutions which could be relevant for discussions by policy makers in Nigeria.
Below are some comments by some Nigerians compiled from a Vanguard’s news story, “Economic Recession: Nigerians have realised electing APC was a costly mistake- Usman” Read.
Let me tell you, building economy is building local industries, not through importation and the countries that are dumping everything on your land keep hailing you. A country that cannot feed itself locally is as poor as Somali land..
Governance is all about the ability to combine economic variables to get a conducive output for the benefit of a state. Those that are poorly educated lack that quality. You cannot plant cassava and go back to reap beans! Never! Buhari’s policies are anti economics.
“What would PDP have done differently?” They would not have waited more than 6 months to appoint a cabinet to tackle the effects of the fall of oil price head on. They would have appointed tested Hands from across Nigeria to manage the situation and come up with economic policies that merit the name.
They would not have wasted time with budget padding but could have gone on to meet the conditions of the World Bank and IMF for bridging loan.
If GEJ really handed over billions of tax payers money to friends, why no convictions since more than a year of APC government? What stops them from prosecuting and jailing those found guilty? The problem is really that Buhari does not trust people outside his ethnic Hausa/Fulani…. he is not easily disposed to suggestions from so-called experts who are not from his religion or ethnic origin. That is why Nigeria is in recession.
Also, PDP would have engaged the services of an Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to brilliantly manage the situation.
ozugwu
Jonathan was voted out because majority believed he was not performing and corrupt fine However, they voted this Govt to provide solutions and not excuses and propaganda It’s clear that we are all suffering and dying and instead of profer solution, all we hear is blame game How many times will Jonathan be voted out? He is already out, let them face governance.
The whole world went into recession in 2008? Did Nigerians suffer like this? Oil was same price then as now
Also, when Buhari was announced as winner, Nigerian stocks went up for a month. So what happened? Tell me do United Kingdom depend on oil? Why are they wobbling now?
Simple decision that put investors on edge. I witnessed the pounds rise to about 1:1.5 against the dollar when remainders where thought to have won but crashed to 1:1.2 today.So, what has changed or do they depend on oil too. It’s simple, that’s demand and supply. If Buhari had come up with the right policies, investors would have brought in foreign currency to invest increasing supply despite fall in oil.
Obasanjo pointedly told Buhari that he (Obasanjo) came into government when crude was selling for 9 dollars per barrel. He had nothing left in the coffers of State but billions of dollars debt. Nigerians did not suffer like this during Obasanjo’s government. And Obasanjo took over from a string of military governments that stole far more than Jonathan and his gang ever stole.
Buhari, on the other hand, got 30 billion dollars left for him in the treasury by Jonathan. Buhari himself has also told us that he had been recovering billions of dollars stolen money from members of the former government, though he has never told us any names or how much specifically. That in itself is corruption. This also is a plus to the national treasury inherited by Buhari.
Even though the price of oil is down now, is it selling at 9 dollars per barrel as it was when Obasanjo took over? How come Nigerians are experiencing such level of suffering now never seen before, not even under Obasanjo who got no money from the treasury, had nobody to retrieve stolen money from and sold oil for 9 dollars per barrel? Those are the questions you APC supporters should be asking yourselves once in a while.
There was no foreign exchange shortage during OBJ’s era and no pipeline bombings. Besides, the economy is going through hyper-inflation thanks to the economic recklessness of the past administration. Ngozi (Okonjo) Iweala warned everybody to brace up for what we are experiencing today but nobody cared to listen.
Tell APC and Buhari to fix the problems. PDP is no longer in power.
To fix the problem created for 16 years in 2years? Examine yourself first.
There is no quick fix like they are making you believe. Except you want the usual cosmetic surgery (borrowing to eat) which can only help you today but create a bigger problem for you tomorrow. You cannot run away from it.
Let Nigerians be more constructive in national discuss. Do we have a species of Nigerians called PDP and another species called APC? We are all Nigerians and if we are sincere, there is no difference between PDP and APC as a party neither is Buhari any better than other past leaders
Tonnero
The president is not a magician. He met an economy that was already ruined. You guys forget that as at February 2015, the Naira was already devalued and there was pressure to devalue even further. At that same time, states were owing up to 10 months of salaries and even the FG borrowed to pay salaries. Marketers were being owed N500b. In short, the economy was already in trouble less than 6 months after the collapse in oil price when the same government had seen a boom for 5 years.
Every failure of APC adds more oxygen to the revival of PDP and removes more shame from the faces of their thieving members who should have been hiding away their faces by now.
We might have to bring back PDP to clean their mess, since the mess is disturbing Buhari.
benue2:
@Funsho ibrahim Please what is the truth? Nigerians are hungry and cannot eat, things are much more expensive than 2015. The Buhari administration promised to fix Nigeria. As at today they are failing to even maintain the economy as it was prior to their taking over the leadership of Nigeria. I do not want to call Buhari a failure yet only because he has been in office for less than 2 years. So i am giving him more time to turn things around, however time is running out. Buhari and his team cannot continue to blame the previous government forever.
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