Political economy of the change mantra

 


IN formulating the principles of governance that the Muhammadu Buhari administration should adopt to give effect to his party’s change mantra, we have three parts: adopting a new orientation, a new style of governance and the economics of the change agenda. Just as the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed said, there is need for new attitudes and orientation. We must eschew tardiness, parochialism and opt for merit, experience and professionalism. We must apply 21st century techniques of doing things. By being technologically compliant, everybody will be living on the same wavelength and accept new ways of doing things.
Two, by the adoption of new styles of governance, we shall come to terms with the use of technology in the governance of the people. This entails using fewer manpower through the adoption and application of computers where manning was the norm. Adoption of new technology forces us to reduce the federal and state civil services by half.
The adoption of a new management style forces us into new strategies for survival via self-employment, import substitution and entrepreneurship. Three, the economics of the Change Mantra is the lodestar of Buhari administration’s change agenda. In Nigeria’s present circumstances job creation, poverty alleviation and import substitution are the primary issues of the day.
To achieve meaningful results in these areas, a structure for solving and executing plans must be put in place as against the norm. Thus, President Buhari should establish the Council of Presidential Advisers (CPA) for the purpose of creating and supervising policies. The CPA should have committees headed by advisers. The economic adviser or chief economist will head the committee on poverty alleviation. The committee on employment will be headed by a presidential assistant with that title.
It is the CPA that will formulate and supervise the implementation of policies for Mr. President. Like the United States Council of Economic Advisers, the CPA will ensure optimum employment in the nation and that the Central Bank of Nigeria makes loans available as high as 300 per cent of Nigeria’s gross domestic product.
In implementing the policies formulated by the CPA, ministers with new orientation come into play. The new orientation mantra would have taught us that there are more factors at play in prosperity than prayer. If India, Japan and China can be prosperous without Christianity, Islam and oil, then there are other factors we are ignoring which kept us in poverty even with oil.
In Nigeria, we had credit of 20 per cent of our GDP in 2013. Although we could have achieved more. Sadly, both the federal and state governments have clung to unpatriotic measures meant to perpetuate the corrupt self-enrichment of government functionaries. That is why government has allowed the prohibitive interest rates in domestic lending to the disadvantage of the national economy; but simultaneously to the benefit of foreign economies from where we obtain loans in hope of foreign direct investment (FDI).
Thus, the recent slashing of interest rates from 13 to 11 per cent is in the national interest. Indeed, sound economic policies begin from a regulated non-interest, non-collateral loan schemes for SMEs and import-substitution industries. Also, unless and until Buhari directs the Central Bank to implement its proposal of August 14, 2007 to reverse the improper treatment of the federation account dollar allocations which were overruled, the economy will remain comatose for eternity.
Which is why unless the improper use of federal dollar is reversed, stopping devaluation by fiat will not stem naira depreciation with its associated compounding distortions of the economy. Invariably, imitating economic policies of successful economies is the answer to our woes.
In 1950, South Korea and Pakistan earned the same income yearly. Today, the two countries are centuries apart. While South Korea’s per capita income had grown 23 fold since then, Pakistan has experienced only a three fold increase. Since Nigeria is in the same boat with these Asian tigers, how can we move Nigeria forward into the guild of well to do nations? That is what the change mantra is all about. South Korea’s success is there for us to imitate. This means empowering every Nigerian with better health, qualitative education, and longer life.
Many of the 169 Sustainable Development targets enumerated by the UN for the next 15 years have at their hearts, concerns such as poverty eradication and gender equality. However, one of the targets, full employment, isn’t really an achievable target. It is a dream, for in economics, a nation must have some unemployment to allow workers change jobs. Research affirms that politicians would use the full employment tag to support expensive, protectionist policies that generate great jobs but drive many into the informal sector of the economy. Thus, full employment would end up doing less good than it would cost, and that is certainly not the way to reduce extreme poverty.
An even better job creation scheme is migration. Millions of people today work outside of their homes. As rich nations age, they need more young workers. Moreover, Nigerians are very productive given a good environment, with an improved skills perfecting education, Nigeria can nurture skilled manpower for export to Europe and North America. It is estimated by researchers that for every dollar spent on migrant workers, home remittances from Nigerians in Diaspora would produce more than $300 per migrant.
After the Communist threat disappeared the developed world started applying policies that had the opposite effect on poor countries. Therefore, in crafting principles for the change agenda, Buharists must beware of being misadvised by foreign economists.

WHY TALENT NEED COURAGE TO FLOURISH

 

WE think of courage as a quality required in times of extreme danger such as during war and economic recession. But it is much more larger than that. Courage is an essential human virtue. You cannot do anything worthwhile without courage. The person who exhibits courage is more often able to live without regrets.
When we think of people whose talent was elevated and tested by their courage, one who immediately comes to mind is the British war-time Prime Minister, Wiston Churchill. As a youngman, Churchill anticipated greatness for himself. But talent needs courage to flourish. The English clergyman Sydney Smith asserted: ‘‘A great deal of talent is lost to the world for want of a little courage.” To develop and discover your talent you need courage.
Our courage is tested when we seek truth that we know maybe painful. And a man does not know what he is made of until he is tested. If we fear the test then we will never get the chance to develop the talent. For the truth that makes men free is mostly the truth which men prefer not to hear. However, we are seldom asked to face flying bullets in a physical battle. Often, our tests are much more private involving internal battles many of us find painful.
In order to grow, we need to face truths about ourselves, which is often difficult to bear. Winston Churchill once said, ‘‘Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” It takes a brave man to listen to unpleasant truths. Courage is tested when change is needed but inactivity is more comfortable. Never leaving the familiar means you are comfortable. But willingly letting go of the familiar means you are courageous. The American historian James Robinson said, ‘‘Greatness, in the last analysis is largely due to bravery – courage in escaping from old ideas and old standards and respectable ways of doing things.”
Our situation does not make us, we make our situation. Our circumstances don’t define, we must define our circumstances by our actions. At anytime, we must be willing to give up all we have in order to become all we can be. If you leave your comfort zone and bravely keep striving, you can reach heights you thought were beyond you. You can go further than those who possess greater talent than you. Italian actress Sophia Loren observed, ‘‘Getting ahead in a difficult profession requires avid faith in yourself. That is why some people with mediocre talent, but with inner drive, go much further than people with vastly superior talent.”
Our courage will be tested when our convictions are challenged. Anytime you are willing to stand up for something, someone will be willing to oppose you. People who express their convictions and try to live them out, will experience conflict from opponents. Which is why you need courage for any action you take. To map out a plan and follow it through requires the courage of soldiers in action. It takes courage to win the victory of peace. The opposite of courage isn’t cowardice, it is comformity. It is not enough to believe in a cause. You need to live for something. A belief is what you argue about. But a conviction is something you can die for. You are not really living unless there are things in your life for which you are willing to die. Bravery is the capacity to act properly even when you are scared to death. And you have not learned a thing until you have applied it in action. What seems impossible is often possible with courage.
In relationships, you go to a higher level when you treat others better than they treat you. When it comes to relationships, there are three routes: the low road – where we treat others worse than they treat us. The middle road where we treat others the same as they treat us. And the high road – where we treat others better than they treat us.
Thus, taking the high road requires courage. It also requires forgiveness. It takes a forgiving spirit to treat others better than they treat him. Always look for courage inside rather than outside of you. Also, you grow in courage by doing the right thing instead of the expedient thing. So, your step forward growing your talent is to decide to be courageous. Occupying a leadership position won’t give you courage, but courage can turn you to a leader.