NIGERIAN ECONOMIC CRISIS AND THE FUTILITY OF FOREIGN GROWN REMEDIES.

A SYNOPSIS.

There is something repugnant about the Nigerian economy and its leadership that defies common sense, certain known peculiarities that render popular economic theories concerning spending, investment, and the creation or expansion of markets unfit for our circumstances. The truth is that when all the Adam Smiths, Jeffrey Sachs, Marxists, Regulated Market proponents, or Free Market Activists of our world were writing or postulating their economic and public policy theories, they did so under certain irrefutable assumptions. Unfortunately, those assumptions do not apply to Nigeria. Therefore, before we start regurgitating or copying Western-influenced economic magic or IMF-sponsored solutions, we must first look inward to examine whether the fundamentals align with our realities. These underlying assumptions are what this essay is about.

WHAT THEY DON'T TELL YOU IN BUSINESS SCHOOL.

One, the notion that electricity is constant is accepted as irrefutable. In other words, there is no such entity as NEPA or erratic power supply, as is the situation in Nigeria, when these foreign intellectuals and financial institutions were formulating their economic theories and bailout policies. Two, while the Old Boys Network may be acceptable, the job or appointment must, 99% of the time, go to the best-qualified candidate or someone with relevant experience. They did not anticipate nepotism, cronyism, federal character, quota systems, or religious factors as one sees in Nigeria. Three, it is a given that the movement of goods and services will not suffer avoidable delay. In other words, the availability of high-speed rail and operable local and interstate highways that facilitate commerce or the movement of goods and services is assumed to be accurate.

However, such a judicial notice cannot be taken in Nigeria. Adam Smith was unaware of this. Professor Jeffrey Sachs, though highly knowledgeable about the global economic situation, does not grasp this aspect of Nigeria. The same can be said for the World Bank and IMF economists, as well as all the Marxists in the Nigerian intelligentsia. When was the last time you travelled by road between Benin City and Port-Harcourt, or between Benin City and Abuja, or between Badagry, Mile 2, Apapa, and Obalende in Lagos State? And can you actually count the number of police checkpoints along the Lokoja/Okenne/Auchi/Benin Highway? Can you quantify the losses we incur due to the incessant stop-and-go?

Finally, the possibility or likelihood of bandits or kidnappers displacing state troopers on their highways, subjecting commuters to indecent assaults, killings, and ransom kidnappings was not included in their prognosis. Yet we cannot enumerate the number of Nigerians who have died or lost millions of Naira at the hands of bandits and Fulani kidnappers. These are some of our peculiarities that are neither included in business school curricula nor covered in most of the recommended textbooks in business schools. Therefore, before you start proposing or embarking on bailout funds for small businesses, think again. There are underlying issues you must address, and they have been discussed here.

SUMMARY Nigerians are, by nature, entrepreneurial. They do not require your handouts. With basic infrastructural facilities in place, they will transform Nigeria in no time. You cannot formulate investment mechanisms when entrepreneurs and manufacturers cannot power their factories. Our youth, investors, and entrepreneurs are flocking to Nairobi and Accra due to the availability of basic infrastructural amenities. These cities enjoy a stable power supply. In a similar vein, when farmers cannot transport their harvested produce from their farms to the nearest market or ready retailers, it bodes poorly for meaningful investment. The result is a waste of valuable time and invested funds. The same holds true when wholesalers cannot reach their distributors with their goods and services. Ultimately, the funds are seldom repaid, resulting in massive indebtedness and economic stagnation.