APC MANIFESTO: A PHILOSOPHICAL CRITIQUE II


After going through the APC Manifesto ( www.allprogressivescongress.org/manifesto ), I clearly have some recommendations and some positions and I will strive to make them as clear and succinct as possible. In governing any society, the ‘governors’ will always be faced with the task of choosing the means to which they are to use in achieving their ends. APC clearly has chosen WELFARISM as their basic ideology. I disagree with those who think APC does not have an ideology, even the most primitive ruling class in the most primitive societies have ideologies. It will be wrong to tag APC’s ideology as socialist as it has an hybrid mix of public enterprises and private enterprises, only in an incoherent blend. The happiest countries in the world have a reasonable percentage of welfare packages for their citizens, starting with Denmark, Norway to Turkey, Singapore and the likes. My criticisms from which my recommendations emerge will be based solely on the process of achieving such a welfare style economy and then perfecting it in such a way that it benefits the citizens of such a society. As it stands now, APC, from their manifesto do not seem to be considering what it will take to achieve such a Denmark style economy. If Denmark will be achieved, it will require the ability to oversee without intervening a burgeoning private sector while providing meticulously the welfare packages (Education, Health Care and the likes) meant for citizens. If this will serve as consolation, even the foremost political thinkers in the ‘West’ still have a problem of ‘Getting to Denmark’

If the lay man on the street will be affected by the CHANGE that will hopefully sweep across Nigeria, it will first be noticed in his micro-economics. It is on this basis that I will start on the section titled JOB CREATION AND THE ECONOMY.

APC intends to ‘maintain sound macro-economic policy environment…. preserve the independence of the Central Bank’ and put in place ‘a more robust monitoring, supervising and regulating of ALL financial institutions’. Whether APC ignores the concept of ALL in these bullet points after hoping to preserve the independence of one and in fact, the most important financial institution or whether it is a mistake is what I am yet to comprehend but if we are to assume that the CBN which is to actually monitor the financial institutions will be independent, maybe APC should focus more on making the economy grow at 10% annually from a 6.8% average in the past six years, a feat which is, in my opinion, also not achievable if what APC called ‘monitoring, supervising and regulating’ is going to take place.
One important bullet point comes in handy; ‘vocational training, entrepreneurial and skills acquisition scheme for graduates along with the creation of Small Business Loan Guarantee scheme….. and the ‘integration of the informal economy into the mainstream’. If this can be achieved, Nigeria which is currently ranked as one of the 10 fastest growing economies in the world as I write will grow at more than 10% annually and this is the reason. The informal economy contributes less than 5% to the GDP even though it constitutes more than 90% of our economy. This is what APC will have to do to achieve this feat; Access to funds will have to be readily available and not just available, also de-risked and de-burdened, permit my use of English. Many funds that can help to improve this informal sector are available but the SME Operators, which the APC manifesto has not expressly mentioned, will have to go through a lot of bureaucracy that dis-incentivizes the entire process and defeats the objective.

Moving forward, APC hopes to ‘expand domestic demand and consider undertaking associated public works programs’, ‘embark on export and production diversification including investment in infrastructure; promote manufacturing through agro based industries and expand sub-regional trade’. One thing to note at this juncture, if this is to be achieved, which I believe is quite achievable, FREE TRADE and OPEN BORDERS will have to be taken as priority. The reasons are simple. Businesses run on incentives. If it is easier and profitable for a farmer to export her products from the cocoa farm in Ijebu-Ode to nearby Abidjan to an industry which requires her products, considering transportation, paper works, ‘egunje’ tariffs, clearance at borders, local government taxes, cost of preservation and other contingencies, the farmer will go ahead. If other farmers start to notice how profitable it is, they will get involved, the more farmers and business men get involved in that process, the higher domestic demand, the higher domestic demand, the better the lives of the farmers and consequently Nigerians that will benefit from her. Undertaking public works programs will, in my opinion drag the process back as the incentive for profit as it is in the case of an individual will not be there and more so, there are no incentives for salary earners in public works ( if undertaking public works programs as understood by me is what APC means it to be)

As far as REDAs go, I would suggest APC wisely invests that money in the development of the necessary infrastructure that will ensure businesses go on with as little hitches as possible. Economic development for me being undertaken by the government is what is beyond the capacity of any government. The economy is spontaneous and guided by what economists have christened the ‘invisible hand’ and any attempt of government interventionism will only lead to what economic history has always confirmed over and over again, economic depression which leads me to a refutation of the attempt by the APC under AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SECURITY to ‘guarantee a minimum price for selected crops’. It is government interventionism and every time government intervenes in the regulation of prices, a self-fulfilling prophecy of a depression comes in handy. The theory of demand and supply are sacrosanct, any attempt by any government to tilt the scale or adjust it will backfire.

Finally on the Economy, I hope and as a matter of fact, I pray that APC’s attempt to ‘amend the constitution and the Land Use Act to create freehold/leasehold interests in land …. and also create additional housing and a mortgage system..’ comes to reality. If this happens as it should, and not just an amendment that still entrenches interest in some cabals, Nigerians, especially farmers may be set on an economic boom that might be likened to the oil days. The Land Use Act if amended will solve a lot of access to funds issues and will ease business and increase the measure of risk that can be taken by a business. On a more general note, the time has come to focus on the individual. Nigerians are hardworking and willing to take responsibility for their lives and their individual economies only if there is a conducive and individual-focused environment. It is after this that the welfare packages for those who cannot leverage on these opportunities can then come in and even at that, abuse of such welfare procedures must be curtailed as it dis-incentivizes hard work and effort in the long run.

I hope other concerned Nigerians will take it from here.
Jude ‘Feranmi juded27@gmail.com @juded27
Philosopher, Nation Builder, Active Citizen