By Gbenga Adeoye

It is important to state that President Bola Tinubu is known for having the ability to “discover” talented men and women who could work with him and achieve set goals. He is also reputed to be a great giver who doesn’t turn people’s requests down.

The presidential seat he occupies today is not by accident. He has reportedly been working to achieve this for over 30 years, building political bridges across the country. This does not come to anybody cheap – it is at a huge price. Therefore, let no one make any mistake about his ‘Emi lo kan’ (it is my turn) slogan.

The implication of the above preamble is that the President must have had the good intention of making life abundant for the people of the country through economic boom, while seeking to be the President..Many Yoruba speaking people would have expected the same from the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo and the late Chief MKO Abiola, who also made efforts at being the President of this great country. I sincerely believe these are the desires of the President while seeking the highest political office in the country and that probably informed his Renewed Hope Agenda mantra.

However, there is a Yoruba proverb that says if “we don’t know where we are going, we must know where we are coming from.” Therefore, going back to where we are coming from is not a sign of weakness, but a decision not to go too far in the wrong direction. Even in medical practice, when a drug is advertised, there is an added clause that says, “if symptoms persist after two days, consult your doctors.”

The current economic policies of the administration seem to have symptoms that have persisted too long in our economy. I think it is time to consult the stakeholders (who are the doctors), so we can jointly take Nigeria out of the current situation.

When people say there could be light at the end of the tunnel when embarking on a journey, it is only those who are alive at the end of the journey that the light, if it exists, would be useful to. Yoruba people have a saying that ‘Eni ti moto ba gba ko lo n duro mu number” (It is not the person hit by a moving vehicle that can describe the vehicle with the plate number in evidence).
I therefore suggest a second look at the following policies of the current administration:

FLOATING OF THE NAIRA
I believe we should revisit the policy of floating the Naira because currency devaluation is dangerous for any import dependent nation. Russia tried floating their currency, leaving it to the dictates of market forces, but they reversed it and today Russia is one of the strongest economies in Europe despite the war with Ukraine.
Germany once floated their currency and the result was terrible until they fixed same.
China once floated their currency and the result was terrible and today their currency is fixed against the dollar and they are a world power, even though 7RMB equals a dollar.
Exporting countries with positive balance of trade can devalue their currency against the dollar to attract United States buyers and others. Canada is another example as they will not allow the Canadian dollar to be stronger than the US dollar because 70% of their exports goes to the US. We are not yet there. We should lead all African Countries in terms of currency value. Kuwait also control their currency and their currency is stronger than the British pound. 1KWD is about $3.279.
The value of a country’s currency has a lot to say about that country. May we not get to the state Zimbabwe was at a time when a bottle of Coke was selling for over ZWL1m. Before it is too late, let us review this policy.
If the main reason is to stop round tripping; that can be done with the use of technology and close monitoring of the few entities that are qualified for forex. We can use technology to ascertain and ensure that forex obtained is used for the purpose it was given. Those involved in round tripping are not ghosts or spirits. We should deal with them rather than allow Naira to keep falling.

SUBSIDY REMOVAL
There is no country without one form of subsidy or the other. Food, energy etc are subsidized in many countries. It is not logical for a producer to pay the same price for a product like those buying the same product from abroad. Yam is cheap in Benue because they produce a lot of it. Orange is cheap in Benue because they produce a lot of it. Cow is cheaper in the North than Lagos because they produce same. Will anybody expect people to buy yam for the same price in Benue and Lagos?
Therefore, Federal Tax rate can be used to take back from big entities what the lowest people in the society enjoy in terms of subsidy. I know the President truly wants to end the corruption in subsidy regime, but the policy, rather than hurting the big companies and parties involved in subsidy scam, is obviously injurious to the citizens and especially the poor. Prices will continue to rise if we don’t review the policy. Those who take subsidy without importing fuel are not spirits, and as such, it is not beyond government’s capacity to catch them and ensure subsidy is not paid based on fake documents.
Also, the effort to ensure that subsidized PMS is not smuggled out of the country through the land borders is not beyond the capacity of the government. The Nigerian Customs is capable of achieving it if given the mandate and backed with resources.
In 2012, there was a Presidential Committee on Verification and Reconciliation of Fuel Subsidy Payment headed by Mr Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede. They identified 21 companies that should refund money to the Federal Government and so ghost does not collect subsidy with fake papers, hence, it can be controlled.
However, if we don’t want to reverse the removal of fuel subsidy, we can set up SUBSIDY TRUST FUND. If the government is unable to reverse the subsidy removal because of the difficulty in blocking leakages therein, then STF should be created like the former PTF for intervention programmes.
Through this Subsidy Trust Fund, solar power projects can be embarked upon to generate power for use. Also, intervention projects in areas such as the creation of ranches and clusters, fertiliser plants, provision of farm implements among others, should be embarked upon.

INTEREST RATE AS A MAJOR WEAPON TO CONTROL INFLATION
This is dangerous for business. It will make foreign entities to take over all sectors over time. For instance, if a Chinese business man gets loans at say 5% from China, he will have leverage over a Nigerian who gets same loan at 30%
For example, $1m from China at 5% will imply that his $1m will become like N1.6b and even with that exchange rate, he will only pay N80,000,000 interest per annum. If a Nigerian gets the same N1.6b, annual interest will be N480,000,000 at 30%. Same market, same product. With the cost of fund, the Nigerian business man will be pushed out of business over time, Where would you pass the extra cost of funds to?
Devaluation of currency and high interest rate at the same time, is a step in the wrong direction in my considered opinion and the CBN should review this as the signs are not good, when businesses owned by Nigerians are compared with those owned by Chinese or other foreigners.

NATIONAL SECURITY AND STATE POLICING, ESPECIALLY ON FARMS
On this, the FGN does not require any admonition. Even the blind can see that no farmer will go to farm without the assurance of security. The President and all the Military Chiefs know this and I think the strategy should be to deal with those sponsoring the killers of farmers.
More Police men should be recruited and farmers should be assured that they are safe.
Farm Settlements owned by states should be revived and I am glad the FGN is looking at that. Clusters should be created in each local government based on what we can grow in each state.
Government should also make it a crime for any child in the North and other parts of the country not to go to school .The recent protest clearly shows direct correlation between uneducated hungry people and violence aimed at looting. In addition, state policing should not just be a mere paper discussion, it should be implemented as fast as possible.

RESTRUCTURING FOR EFFECTIVENESS
If there is anyone who understands the benefit of regional system of government; Asiwaju Tinubu is number one. He was the Governor of Lagos State with the mindset of making it a self sustaining state. Lagos indeed is ahead as a state that can stand alone.
Most of the states that refuse to think out of the box are being unserious because they know their father ( FGN) will give them money monthly. I discovered that most of the states that are serious about IGR invest in development, while states without serious IGR mindset do squander or waste what they get from their father (FGN). Some people have said that as soon as allocation is released by FAAC to such states: pressure on the forex market increases. Like the late Chief J.F Odunjo wrote and I quote first in Yoruba; “ohun ti a ko ba jiya fun ki pe lowo eni.( what you don’t work for do not last in your hands.). Let us find a way of rewarding sub nationals that are serious.

REFORM NATIONAL ORIENTATION AGENCY
I see the level of ignorance in people who cut off railings on bridges, or destroy public properties, it not a matter of poverty but ignorance. National Orientation Agency needs to promote patriotism on radio, in motor parks, market places, villages and cities.

REJIG THE CABINET. FIRE THOSE ADDING NO VALUE
Some persons only have the ambition to add to their CVs that they were former ministers. They have achieved that. It is time for them to go home. We can’t tolerate non-performing guys anymore. I think it will not be too good to have poor performers in the cabinet. The President should use Key Performance Index to weed out poor ones. These are the kind of cabinet members that will deceive the president that all is well with all his policies when they are not even adding any value. To remain a Minister, after every six months, there must be an appraisal of performance known to Nigerians.

CONCLUSION
It is important to review the aforementioned policies if we want different results. If need be, let us look around, even among the opposition and harvest best brains to proffer solutions to our problems. If the methods and policies we are using at the moment are counter-productive, we can try other means to solve our problems.
Lastly, there is a Yoruba proverb that says: “Ti ina o ba tan lori, eje kii tan leekana. It simply could mean that as long as a problem persists, agitation and tension will remain. The symptoms have persisted, we need to see the doctor.
I suspect that the interactions between interest rate, Naira floating and subsidy removal are not in the best interest of the people and it is never too late to sit down and review.
Let’s try something else for 90 days and see the result. I love my country and I want the President to succeed, please don’t listen to those people saying all is well sir. Try something different for 90 to 180 days.
God bless Nigeria.

Adeoye, a lawyer-cum-chartered accountant, lives in Lagos