The whole purpose of democratic rule is to empower the people. This democracy that we have today has not empowered our people. In fact, it has impoverished them. With the possible exception of a certain category of politicians and their fronts, most Nigerians cannot claim to be better off than they were in 1999.

I congratulate every Nigerian on the occasion of yet another “Democracy” day, a day set aside to celebrate the return to civil rule after decades under military rule. As is customary, there will be parades across all the states and at the Federal Capital Territory to mark this special day, speeches upon speeches will be made and much effort will also be made to analyse and celebrate the ‘gains’ made since the return to democratic rule.

Chief Executive Officer, Economic Associates, Ayo Teriba, in this interview, argues that Nigeria could have avoided the economic recession, devaluation and inflation that accompanied the loss in foreign exchange revenue due to decline in crude oil price between 2014 and 2016, if government had taken the right step namely to build external reserves buffer that will protect the nation from the vagaries of the crude oil market.

Tragedy struck in Alausa Secretariat, Ikeja, when a corps member, identified as Ibukun Arowolo, allegedly slumped and died, barely five days to completion of his one year service.

In this interview, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, Managing Director/Chief Executive, Financial Derivatives Company and one of the nation’s leading economic analysts, speaks on the state of Nigeria’s economy, highlighting the major challenges inhibiting growth, while recommending elimination of policy rigidities and injection of booster shots to achieve optimal economic growth.