We are waiting

omohayek:

Thanks for sharing the article. It's a shame Nigerian politicians (and elites in general) have never shown any enthusiasm for case studies of how to do development right, as the East Asian "Tigers" - and Hong Kong in particular - have long stood as counter-examples to the statist, protectionist, import-substitution based model that has proved a total failure wherever it has been tried (including China and India).

Hong Kong is particularly noteworthy of attention, as it puts attention to the lie that economic growth is particularly a matter of cultivating "strategic" heavy industries through subsidies, heavy import tariffs, outright bans and all the other distortionary policies Nigerians of all strata have all taken for granted as "obviously" necessary for progress. In addition, the example of Hong Kong illustrates something that should be obvious but which most Nigerians seem unwilling or outright incapable of understanding: the less the regulation, the lower the taxation, and the smaller the role of the state in general, the less room there is for corruption to flourish. One cannot have a state which puts huge discretionary powers in the hands of politicians and bureaucrats without these powerful leaders being tempted to abuse the powers they have been granted for selfish purposes, which is all "corruption" is.

For example, even if all the worst allegations about Tinubu's supposed corruption were true, merely by abolishing the petrol subsidy and getting rid of the old multiple-exchange rate regime, he will at a stroke have done more to reduce corruption in Nigeria than any leader has done since Buhari first came to power in 1983. A "crooked" Tinubu who then goes on to privatise and deregulate the numerous white elephants and parastatals will have managed to clean up public life in Nigeria to a degree no impotent "saint" with a "stolen mandate" could ever have managed, given the reality of an APC-controlled House and Senate.

If Tinubu's critics were serious about caring about "corruption", this is what they'd be pushing for, but as we can all see with their cheering on of the recent coup in Niger, all this "opposition" really amounts to is tribalistic animus rather than anything rooted in principle, a primitive "it's our turn to steal" mindset that would rather Nigeria descend back into the darkness of the Abacha years if they can't have their way. In such an atmosphere of primitive tribalism, a Nigeria that learns from Hong Kong seems about as far-fetched as Star Wars turning out to be a documentary, sadly ...

A lot of what you said are golden nuggets.

The countries addiction to interventionist policies has held it back. Everybody becomes an economic expert spewing out senseless economic policies.

The Economist magazine said that "Protectionism has failed to industrialize the country."

Yes, privatization, liberalization, elimination of subsidies and low or zero import duties for most goods, would have a devastating impact on corruption.

The PRI in Mexico became victims of their own success after privatising most state owned companies and had no more patronage "jobs for the boys."

In Peru. the former president, Fujimori, got sent to prison and another president after the economic policies which he introduced empowered the people to stand up for their rights.

The elimination of petrol subsidies and unification of rates has done a lot to reduce corruption in one swell swoop. Buhari, who to me contends with Babangida for the post of worst leader in Nigeria's history, chose the interventionist corruption prone model that lined the pockets of his families and the well connected. The multiple exchange rates were a honourable way to make money if done right.

Though Atiku and Obi planned to also remove the petrol subsidy and unify rates, I doubt any of the two had the backbone to do the job, especially an idealist like Peter Obi. Even Charles Soludo did not support him but did the opposite.

https://thenationonlineng.net/subsidy-removal-floating-of-naira-disruptive-changes-nigeria-must-go-through-soludo

omohayek:

Thanks for sharing the article. It's a shame Nigerian politicians (and elites in general) have never shown any enthusiasm for case studies of how to do development right, as the East Asian "Tigers" - and Hong Kong in particular - have long stood as counter-examples to the statist, protectionist, import-substitution based model that has proved a total failure wherever it has been tried (including China and India).

Hong Kong is particularly noteworthy of attention, as it puts attention to the lie that economic growth is particularly a matter of cultivating "strategic" heavy industries through subsidies, heavy import tariffs, outright bans and all the other distortionary policies Nigerians of all strata have all taken for granted as "obviously" necessary for progress. In addition, the example of Hong Kong illustrates something that should be obvious but which most Nigerians seem unwilling or outright incapable of understanding: the less the regulation, the lower the taxation, and the smaller the role of the state in general, the less room there is for corruption to flourish. One cannot have a state which puts huge discretionary powers in the hands of politicians and bureaucrats without these powerful leaders being tempted to abuse the powers they have been granted for selfish purposes, which is all "corruption" is.

For example, even if all the worst allegations about Tinubu's supposed corruption were true, merely by abolishing the petrol subsidy and getting rid of the old multiple-exchange rate regime, he will at a stroke have done more to reduce corruption in Nigeria than any leader has done since Buhari first came to power in 1983. A "crooked" Tinubu who then goes on to privatise and deregulate the numerous white elephants and parastatals will have managed to clean up public life in Nigeria to a degree no impotent "saint" with a "stolen mandate" could ever have managed, given the reality of an APC-controlled House and Senate.

If Tinubu's critics were serious about caring about "corruption", this is what they'd be pushing for, but as we can all see with their cheering on of the recent coup in Niger, all this "opposition" really amounts to is tribalistic animus rather than anything rooted in principle, a primitive "it's our turn to steal" mindset that would rather Nigeria descend back into the darkness of the Abacha years if they can't have their way. In such an atmosphere of primitive tribalism, a Nigeria that learns from Hong Kong seems about as far-fetched as Star Wars turning out to be a documentary, sadly ...

epistology I call this.
Your doggedness in advancing failing policies of Tinubu is fascination in the least.

naijaboy756:
hahaahhaha
You like blood

Mining skul and breast up and down

🥱🥱