Foreign diplomats and some local economic
experts have expressed fears that the current
economic recession in Nigeria may last till 2021 if
urgent steps are not taken by the Federal
Government.
The diplomats, who appraised the economic
policies of the Muhammadu Buhari
administration, said the recession was triggered
by the government’s three-pronged war on the
Boko Haram insurgents, militants in the Niger
Delta and the anti-corruption crusade.
The diplomats from some Asian countries asserted
that the recession was heightened by what they
described as “the lack of clear economic plans”
by the Buhari administration.
One of the High Commissioners, who opted for
anonymity to avoid any diplomatic row with
Nigeria, maintained that any war a country fights
takes a huge toll on its economy.
He said: “Some of us were alarmed when
President Buhari, who was struggling to fight
Boko Haram and the Niger Delta militants, chose
to declare another front on corruption.
“From Vietnam to Iraq to Afghanistan to Syria: no
country fights a war without its economy being
the first casualty. In fact, the wars in Iraq, Afghan­
istan, Pakistan, and Syria have cost the United
States (US) taxpayers over $4.7 trillion; any
wonder the country’s economy is gasping for
breath?
“In the case of Nigeria, it is bad enough that you
are fighting Boko Haram terrorists and Niger Delta
militants. Again, the government decided a third
one which is the war against corruption”.
The envoy said that although “this is a low
intensity ‘war’, but really speaking, it is a war
against the economy of the nation. It’s worse
than a full scale conflict apart from the absence of
the cruel physical human impact.”
“The rhetoric from your President and the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC) was enough to drive people under.
Business owners and money moguls in the finan­
cial sector have locked up. There is confusion in
the land; nobody knows who the EFCC will de­
scend on next.”
Another envoy, who shared the views of the
economic experts, declared that a country that
gets four of its major banks’ managing directors
locked up in one day and forced them to cough
out billions of naira to regain their freedom has
shot itself in the foot.
The experts had condemned the detention of
some bank chiefs for alleged corruption offences.
They said that “by that act you erode confidence
in your banking sector both from depositors’
point of view and from their foreign partners and
corresponding banks which usually lend them
money for further lending locally.
“In our bid to fight corruption, we declared a
‘war’,” one of them said, adding that, “We took
the war too far and tagged whoever has money in
the country as corrupt. People became afraid to
invest money in the economy. Investors became
wary. They started moving their monies in droves.
This put a strain on our national reserves,” one of
the economists said.
One of the envoys, who did a cross-country
analysis of the situation, said: “Don’t forget that
Nigeria is a Third World country where the
financial sector is a bit unregulated. People source
funds both from the black markets and the
conventional markets to carry out their
businesses. What is illegitimate in developed
countries like the US and the United Kingdom
(UK) may not necessarily be illegitimate here.
These supposedly illegitimate windows are the
only ways people can use to even up with their
foreign counterparts. But now everyone started
suspecting the other. The middle class to which
the working class depends locked up their
vaults.”
The envoy also agreed with the experts that the
government’s decision to implement the Treasury
Single Account (TSA) at the time it was done was
unwise.
He argued that it made no economic sense to
mop up all Federal Government’s funds in
commercial banks into a so-called TSA account at
the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) without
concluding the scientific stress test recommend­
ed by former Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-
Iweala, under the Goodluck Jonathan’s govern­
ment.
To the experts, TSA has caused more economic
stagnation than solve its intended purpose of
curbing corruption.
One of the experts said: “We make grave
mistakes by equating ourselves to the standards
of the West. Unfortunately, even in the western
world they consciously lower the standards for
their senior citizens and for those who create
employment for their citizens.
“Today, there is palpable fear in the land. We are
in a state of tension everywhere. Nobody wants to
say anything without fear of the EFCC visiting
your bank to print out your account statement
and invite you to make statements on flimsy alle­
gations,” another expert stated.
He said: “As we are talking to you now, there is
fear in the land. People don’t want to bring out
their money to spend. As a result, government
revenues have dwindled in terms of taxes and
import duties. Go to the Customs. This is probably
the worst period in the history of the agency.
Nobody is importing anything. Everybody who
has money is scrambling to hide it.”
A financial analyst, who also opted for anonymity,
said that “fighting corruption is good. But
corruption could be fought without making it a
national priority and sloganeering it. There is
nowhere in the world where there is no
corruption. In fact, in some countries, the situa­
tion is worse than Nigeria. The best approach is to
put systems in place that prevent corruption itself
rather than creating panic in the polity.
“Sloganeering is a very bad thing for a country.
Slogans like war against corruption only breed
more corruption. War against indiscipline only
breeds more indiscipline. In fact, there is a salient
feeling in the security circle, that every law cre­
ates a loophole for exploitation by those
implementing it. This is now the case as the anti-
corruption agencies have exploited the so-called
war against corruption and created undue advan­
tage for themselves.”
On the way out, both the envoys and economists
agreed that Nigeria is really in bad shape. One of
them said that the way out is for the President to
declare a general amnesty for the so-called
corrupt and encourage them to start spending lo­
cally to boost economic activities and to fight
corruption in a decent way without necessarily
declaring a war.

nwasinachi:
Buhari, return our corruption. People wey get money dey fear to spend am coz of your witch-hunt. Buhari is d cause of dis recessoon.

AntiWailer:


Only thieves will be scared of spending loots

AntiWailer:


Only thieves will be scared of spending loots

AntiWailer:


Only thieves will be scared of spending loots

johnie:
All the people interviewed spoke on condition of anonimity?

Their main grouse is with the war on corruption?

Ok o, continue!

Goke7:
The foreign diplomats are only speaking cos most of their country's interests have been affected too. Anybody who thinks they are speaking for the love of Nigeria needs to examine his or her head. Its all about interest here and nothing more jare.

izombie:
why are zombies like this? Are you not in nigeria? Do you not see what is happening? The diplomats are not the ones eating lizards and frog to survive, neither are they the ones struggling to buy one cup of garri. Buhari's policies are killing nigeria. You talk about interests but what buhari is doing is not in the interest of nigeria but to satisfy himself. With the way he's ruled naija so far, buhari is not even fit to be a community leader let alone nigeria.

Goke7:


Go and sit down jor, if the diplomats are not eating lizards and frogs to survive according to you so what's their problem? They love you and I so much abi? They suddenly have sympathy for Nigerians, look here not all of us are emotional like you guys. if the diplomats are not feeling the heat and their interests are not affected they won't be complaining, you hear?

luvinhubby:

If we talk now, they will say we are wailers, Buhari is a disaster.

luvinhubby:

If we talk now, they will say we are wailers, Buhari is a disaster.

osinbanjoisaliar:
One of
them said that the way out is for the President to
declare a general amnesty for the so-called
corrupt and encourage them to start spending lo­
cally to boost economic activities and to fight
corruption in a decent way without necessarily
declaring a war.