The Bankers Committee,which comprises the Central Bank of Nigeria and Chief Executive Officers of the Money Deposit banks resolved at the end of their meeting last week, to remove ATM charges, and investigate alleged excessive charges imposed on customers and also agreed to increase lending, and reduce interest rates to Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs).

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently concluded its 2012 ‘Article IV Consultation’ on Nigeria. The IMF, as part of its recommendations, suggested the winding down of the operation of the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON). This recommendation was apparently predicated on the need to curb what it described as ‘moral hazards and fiscal risks’.

At a recent forum in Lagos, on Tuesday, 19/3/2013, President Goodluck Jonathan insisted that “we cannot continue to waste resources meant for a greater number of Nigerians to subsidize the affluent middle class, who are the main beneficiaries (of fuel subsidies)”.

Today’s piece is sequel to Toyin Dawodu’s earlier article “Stable Electricity Still a Decade Away from Nigeria”. Toyin, a Nigerian in the Diaspora, is Managing Partner of Capital Investment Group in California, and also CEO of an outfit currently testing alternative and clean energy generation.

This column has consistently maintained that the root cause of our economic paradox of increasing income, with unbridled unemployment rate, and deepening poverty will be found in the conscious and incorrect adoption of a faulty process for the infusion of our crude export dollar revenue into the economy.

Lately, the Central Bank of Nigeria in a two-page Press Release, laboured to corroborate the Finance Ministry’s earlier clarifications on “the meaning, structure and management of the nation’s foreign reserves”. CBN defines external reserves, appropriately, as external assets held in foreign currencies by a country’s Central Bank for the “primary purpose of safeguarding the international value of the legal tender currency (i.e. the naira)”.

In apparent response to the Action Congress’ admonition that the nation’s economy was “gradually grinding to a halt”, the Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, unexpectedly painted a brighter economic picture, and sought to clarify popular misconceptions on the issues of our external reserves and the alleged discrepancies between reported reserves balances of the Finance Ministry and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Regrettably, however, the canvassed positive indices of GDP growth and claims of fiscal prudence are not corroborated by the ugly reality on ground.

There are media concerns on the potential adverse impact of delay on budget implementation and the possibility of the Legislature overriding presidential opposition to 2013 budget enactment.

Our governments have spent billions of naira over time to promote a positive image for Nigerians everywhere. Regrettably, the popular perception of the Nigerian character remains that of greed, self-interest and other such ingenious criminal escapades. The promoted brand of “Good People, Great Nation” never really took off, and it has become clear that neither catchy slogans nor sexy packaging can change public perception of what is intrinsically a bad product!

The recognition of the abysmal depth of corruption in public office is probably shared by all discerning citizens of this country; consequently, some well-meaning Nigerians have prescribed the death penalty for anyone convicted of treasury looting! The obvious provocation of the recent slap-on-the-wrist punishment to a civil servant for stealing over N27bn of Police Pension Fund may have prompted the call for more severe penalty!