CONCERNS about the health of our economy are easily confused with governments being worried about funds to run their businesses. They are different. A healthy economy means favourable price of crude oil.

If the price is high enough to fund contract-driven policies that dominate thinking in governments, the economy is rated healthy. Inflation rates, low competitiveness of our businesses, high unemployment rates and increasing poverty are remote matters for our governments. They are concerned about monthly allocations from oil.

The budget season is here again. Federal, state and local governments are going through the annual figure rituals. It is time to reel out what governments will spend on themselves and worry if oil prices would support their extravagance.

Few budget arguments would be heard. Interests are more on the elections in February, just three months away. We would at least be saved legislative pretence at holding government agencies accountable.

As campaigns for the 2015 elections rumble on, governments would find apt titles for their budgets. They need people they ignored for years to vote again, it is a civic responsibility, they say, for the sustenance of democracy.

Most budget talks make frequent references to the people and their importance in democracy. The right words are important now, arrogance returns after the elections.

However, a 2010 civil society organisations session on budget performance made these observations:

*There was no citizens’ participation in the budget preparation process.

*There was no substantial input from the civil society organisations during budget processes and implementation.

*Government largely depended on oil for financing the budget, resulting in poor budget performance and slow pace of development.

*The budget did not adequately address gender and people with special needs.

*Little industrialisation to complement government’s skill acquisition programmes, hence youth unemployment and poverty.

* The budget lacked specific goals, benchmarks and indicators with which to evaluate and assess its performance.

*Legislators made very little contact with their constituencies and their interests did not reflect in budgetary projections.

*There was inadequate fiscal discipline in the implementation of the budget.

The list contains everything a budget should not be. The tragedy of this is that the situation captures our government budgets nationwide.

Where budgets do not reflect aspirations of the people, who do they serve? Whether at the federal or state level, budgets have become self-serving weapon for the authorities, as reflected in the minimal current expenditure of our budgets.

The time is ripe for governments to tell Nigerians how they spend budgets and why they spent them in the manner they do. Unless the people keep piling pressure on their governments, they will get no explanations.