LAST month, the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo and the  Budget and Planning Minister, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, announced that the Federal Government would soon launch an Economic Recovery Programme (ERP), designed to lift the nation out of recession. The VP had repeatedly stated that recession would be over “soon” without giving a definite time line.

The minister also projected the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of seven per cent by 2020. As usual with most governments falling behind on economic expectations, the safest thing had always been to shift deadlines to a date when the government might no longer be in charge. Promises made by previous administrations with respect to the year 2020 have all proved farcical.

This is one of the reasons our citizens have largely come to ignore the pronouncements of government officials. They never seem to say things that  resonate with the needs of the people and fulfill them as promised. Nigerians are groaning under a harsh economic weather and have recently protested about it. They expect government to focus on what will happen until May 29, 2019 – not a day or year after.

The ERP is coming almost two years behind time. It was a programme that should have been launched as soon as the President Muhammadu Buhari government assumed office, yet there is no guarantee that it will be launched within February 2017.

As far back as 2014, Nigeria’s leading economists and many global financial institutions had predicted economic downturn in Nigeria – with less than three per cent GDP growth in 2015. Some had also pointed to an inevitable recession in 2016 if the price of crude oil stayed below $50 per barrel. That should have prompted both an incumbent government and even more so, a visionary and serious opposition party, to create measures to tackle the impending challenge. A responsible political opposition which regards itself as a serious government-in-waiting should have assembled a team of economic and financial experts to develop an ERP. The second window of opportunity was missed when President Buhari delayed to appoint ministers until six months after assuming office. Political leaders must realise that time is a priceless economic resource, just like capital, labour and materials. An ERP should have been part of the campaign documents for implementation from day one.

We hope nothing will delay release of the ERP beyond February 2017 – not even the absence of President Buhari. The recent protests heighten the urgency of the issue. Our quest for foreign loans and investments will yield little until our global partners are sure that they are not risking their money with a political leadership that lacks vision and initiative.