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Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Politics / Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election By Charles Soludo (53982 Views)
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Re: Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election By Charles Soludo by 9inches(m): 2:16am On Jan 27, 2015 |
Obi has laid foundations for a new Anambra – Soludo Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Professor Chukwuma Soludo, has described Governor Peter Obi as a man of destiny whose disciplined and God-fearing life has insured his success in life. He said this on Tuesday during the memorial thanksgiving mass at St Theresa’s Catholic Church, Isuofia, in honour of Soludo’s mother-in-law and commended the governor for his numerous achievements, noting that he had laid strong foundations for sustainable development, which, he said, future administrations could consolidate. Soludo disagreed with the governor’s plan to retire from active politics, saying that the country needed people like him, especially during these trying times. http://www.tribune.com.ng/news2013/index.php/en/news/item/17436-obi-has-laid-foundations-for-a-new-anambra-%E2%80%93-soludo 1 Like |
Re: Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election By Charles Soludo by owobokiri(m): 4:39am On Jan 27, 2015 |
lucianohase: Totally agree. . |
Re: Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election By Charles Soludo by zoomzoom(m): 8:06am On Jan 27, 2015 |
Chigold101: GBAM..I couldn't have captured it better myself.."TRUTH AS TOLD BY A BITTER MAN". He wants NGOZI's job,angry with OBI and believes GEJ hasn't treated him fairly. Overall,there are some truths in his write-up..but definitely not the part about OBJ & IBB. I still recommend a read by GEJ. #GEJTILL2019. 2 Likes |
Re: Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election By Charles Soludo by dammytosh: 8:35am On Jan 27, 2015 |
CCsurplus007: Why not challenge the statistics. Instead of attacking the man. |
Re: Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election By Charles Soludo by Chigold101(m): 8:57am On Jan 27, 2015 |
zoomzoom:yes he really made some points but u know his main aim is to hit back at Obi & GEJ. GEJ‘s media team are studying his points & Obi has already replied him. I am not happy that Soludo cant forgive... It is a pity. |
Re: Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election By Charles Soludo by Chigold101(m): 9:01am On Jan 27, 2015 |
zoomzoom:yes he really made some points but u know his main aim is to hit back at Obi & GEJ. How can someone mention dept forgiveness during OBJ‘s tenure without mentioning Ngozi Okonjo-Iwela. That is malicious and evil. Today in Soludo‘s eye, Ngozi is a trader...funny ooo GEJ‘s media team are studying his points & Obi has already replied him. I am not happy that Soludo cant forgive... It is a pity. |
Re: Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election By Charles Soludo by esoket1776: 9:10am On Jan 27, 2015 |
[quote author=Tomoarika post=30137084][/quote]. This is a darn explicit surgical ops of the Nigerian state of affairs. |
Re: Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election By Charles Soludo by jpphilips(m): 9:37am On Jan 27, 2015 |
Immune1: You cannot be an economist with this opinion, you must have been educated at the least level, it doesn't matter what people like you think, what matters is what the likes of Soludo have to say. You are only privileged to have Soludo as your country man, dont abuse that privilege. |
Re: Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election By Charles Soludo by neocortex: 9:40am On Jan 27, 2015 |
Oduduwaboy: Do you want to gamble with a whole four years ? |
Re: Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election By Charles Soludo by jpphilips(m): 9:44am On Jan 27, 2015 |
Luchitec: The Obi swipe was uncalled for, however, I took the substance and left the fiction for the likes of Terry G to feast on. There is nothing new Soludo said, these are things that any enlightened mind in Nigeria should know and should be concerned, However, for a population whose citizens are bathing salt water, I have no doubt that most Jonathan's supporters have no idea what Jonathan has done to them. 1 Like |
Re: Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election By Charles Soludo by Walelavender(m): 11:04am On Jan 27, 2015 |
EmoBoy:Could you please suggest another political party whose platform could give the PDP government at the centre a run for their money? All the facts you have stated have been over flogged, the only viable opposition to the 16 years of PDP lacklustre performance remains the APC. Let's vote in good governance. You don't want to see PDP at the centre for another 4 years. |
Re: Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election By Charles Soludo by jpphilips(m): 11:15am On Jan 27, 2015 |
ogene007: Show me one country in the world where the opposition gives in details its solution to the incumbent, just mention one? At the time Obama campaigned for change, he promised to withdraw American troops from Iraq, did he say how?did he tell you that he has located Osama and for a year 8months the Seal team 6 are making preparations for the heat? did you know that? Did he tell you that Osama's Abottabad residence has been under surveillance for over a year? He promised to neutralize the sleeping cells of terror as a global challenge did he tell you how? After the death of Osama no single retaliation on American soil or interests abroad, did he tell you how he did it? He promised health care to 80% of the American population, did he say how? Did he tell you during the elections about the chip they want to use to access health care? Second term; Obama promised to expand America's interest to secure her Energy interest, did he tell Mc cain of shale oil boom? did he tell him his Russian, Iran, Saudi Arabian plans of rendering OPEC useless? The Brazilian opposition took over from the incumbent and in their first term the Brazilian economy was so robust to join the BRICS, why did the opposition not divulge it to the incumbent? What about the strides of the Indian opposition? How about the present govt of Rouhani of Iran, did he tell Ahmadinejad his strategy of lifting western sanctions to better their economy did he? What you guys ask from the opposition is totally unrealistic, for minds like mine, it is senseless, Soludo asking for it was a bait to make them talk so that if they loose, the PDP can save the economy with their ideas (ie if they have it). What we as electorates have is the right to hire and fire every four years by dissecting the pedigree of the actors whether incumbent or aspiring, you don't have the right to ask anyone to give you his ideas free. It doesn't happen in any part of the world and Buhari is not stvpid to oblige your buffoonery. People like you come to the internet to talk nonsense without a panoramic understanding of how the real world works, you expect us to respect your insane opinion when you cannot restrict your insanity to your cage? Who told you Amaechi fought against the SWF? you don't know anything that is happening in the country yet you feel you deserve an opinion however dumb, SWF was the FG's share of the ECR, so the SWF came to be as a result of Amaechi's efforts how can you say Amaechi fought against it? The SWF was started with $1b and it was supposed to be an investment fund just like other countries, where has Jonathan invested it? what dividends has it yielded? Amaechi actually fought for the sharing of the ECR because they discovered that ECR was used to bankroll Yaradua and Jonathan's 1st term election, what is wrong in that? how about the billions of dollars that Governors borrowed, Guaranteed by the FG after sharing the ECR? which is more senseless? They collect Federal allocation and squander, they share ECR and squander, then they go for Loans and the insane FG, guarantees it for them, while the nematode in Aso rock watches like a pregnant Oracle. Obasanjo did not pay a dime to Tinubu's new 7 LGA's because he knew it was unsustainable, OBJ never touched the minimum wage because he knows it is unsustainable, OBJ fought the Judiciary to keep the ECR knowing the economic implications as advised by Soludo, what is it that Johnathan has ever fought for, in the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians? The senseless minimum wage he increased at high oil price is the reason most states could no longer pay salaries with a fall in crude prices, how senseless was that policy? that is exactly how Jonathan has been ruining every sector of our economy, yet Nigerians are happy and TAnning themselves in buffoonery. When it comes to his interest of balkanizing the oil/power sector and stealing assets, he will muscle both the judiciary and lawmakers, no impediment. When it comes to petty politics of Amaechi and Bamangar tukur, he becomes a warrior, nonsense!! 1 Like 2 Shares |
Re: Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election By Charles Soludo by jpphilips(m): 12:32pm On Jan 27, 2015 |
Boss13: Don't you think the bold part is an overstatement? |
Re: Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election By Charles Soludo by jpphilips(m): 1:36pm On Jan 27, 2015 |
Tosman12: The bold part of your post makes all the difference, most of the PDP trolls here are jobless students who know next to nothing how their school fees come around. I don't even have answers yet to the increment my workers union is proposing due to this m@ss and this kids will be talking nonsense here everyday. I think that when mass retrenchment will ensue, most parents who bred these online charlatans will send them a strong message. |
Re: Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election By Charles Soludo by jpphilips(m): 1:52pm On Jan 27, 2015 |
Eluwilussit: What was Obasanjo's Maths score when he lowered unemployment by 16% by stimulating the financial sector with Robust policies? What was OBJ'S score in pharmacology when Fake drugs was combated? What was OBJ'S score in Economics when Nigeria got its highest debt relief, immune our economy to a crude price drop of $38/b? What was OBJ's score in criminology when the Police boss was Incarcerated? What was OBJ'S score in Electrical Engineering when GSM got to you, never mind that you have chosen to abuse that privilege. The office of the president is not an academic position, all a president needs is a sound team, courage and sincerity of purpose, none can be found in Jonathan. As for Buhari, 4yrs is enough for any discerning mind to draw up a score card, in 2019, we will decide whether he will continue or pack to Daura, giving Jonathan 10yrs insults everything common sense stand for. When Jonathan begged Nigerians to tighten their belts on subsidy removal, I believe Nigerians were willing to make that sacrifice, but looking at why the subsidy had to go in the first place, the cabal? the spinelessness of the man at the helm of affairs, you will have a rethink. The economy is already bad, but the culprit must not be allowed to continue, if possible bring him to justice, and Only Buhari has the courage to do the needful. We are about to face serious austerity measures, that sacrifice needs to be made under a responsible administration not this. Let me quickly remind you that when Okonjo Iweala announced the austerity measures, she emphasized on the increase in FIRS receipt, only if the easterners know what that means, they will immediately withdraw their support for Jonathan. That is how they deceive them instead of telling them "increase in pump price", they will tell them "subsidy removal". Instead of telling them "increase in port duty", they will tell them, "increase in FIRS receipt". The traders in the east who make reasonable number to effect change will cling to a poison like Jonathan and think they have strawberry, by second quarter of this year, most traders will not believe what will befall their businesses. During the announcement, I was saying to myself, why will okonjo iweala not propose a cut on the fat wages of ministers, Legislators etc? to score cheap political point, Jonathan has granted the Judiciary financial autonomy, give them a year their wages will rival the legislators. Why were the 11 presidential fleet not disposed as part of the austerity measure? Did Jonathan even consider the implication of what he is did? does he even know that every action has equal and opposite reaction? Governors asked for ECR, he caved in, did he even consider the economic implications? is it not what we are suffering today? what happened to his presidential fiat? a leader who has no courage to say "NO", how can people be supporting evil? Only God knows where the election money is coming from, next we hear that Aso rock has been sold to the French. Once they strike, you cave in, no will, no courage, no sense, this is definitely not the leader who should lead this country. |
Re: Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election By Charles Soludo by jpphilips(m): 2:05pm On Jan 27, 2015 |
deletrue: |
Re: Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election By Charles Soludo by jpphilips(m): 3:28pm On Jan 27, 2015 |
kmariko: Are you aware that Dubai was built with oil wealth in less than 10yrs? Governance is about continuity, Obj did well in some key sectors of the economy, overall, he was average but he laid some pertinent foundations that could not be ignored. Imagine what will happen if the consolidation exercise has maintained the number of bank branches we had since then? banks could finance robust businesses with a reliable stock exchange, we wont be talking about this level of unemployment. Imagine if Jonathan fine tuned the NIPP with integrity, why wont we have steady electricity? Even to privatize the existing plants, Jonathan could not deliver, where he tried, he managed to sell to his cronies and friends who know next to nothing how to run them. Imagine if Jonathan continued saving FOREX, with the tempo OBJ used, by now, the naira will not be a piece of paper, cost of living will be ok, you know people don't seem to understand the implications of this devaluation till traders finish their old stocks. Imagine if Jonathan maintained a debt free profile like OBJ with huge reserves, we wont know what is going on, now that is the ugliest truth. OBJ was no where near a good leader but the buffoonery of Jonathan has made him a saint. 2 Likes |
Re: Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election By Charles Soludo by Nobody: 3:39pm On Jan 27, 2015 |
jpphilips:I love you! |
Re: Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election By Charles Soludo by jpphilips(m): 3:51pm On Jan 27, 2015 |
BlackTechnology: Show us proof that Buhari's annual pension is 300m? Do you have any idea what 300m is? you are feeling fly carrying over your 2014 madness to 2015, continue.... 2 Likes 1 Share |
Re: Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election By Charles Soludo by jpphilips(m): 4:11pm On Jan 27, 2015 |
hermesprogidy: 2 Likes |
Re: Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election By Charles Soludo by jpphilips(m): 4:32pm On Jan 27, 2015 |
Caseless: Save your breath, after the elections, Most people will move their investments to Ghana, Oil companies did it during the militancy era, it can be repeated in 2015, they are free to come to Ghana to apply for jobs when Jonathan is done with their pigeon brains. 1 Like |
Re: Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election By Charles Soludo by jpphilips(m): 6:34pm On Jan 27, 2015 |
XKZ: How do governments create monopolies? (A) By going to china themselves to purchase and have a bill of laden tagged Consignee: "The Nigerian Govt" OR (B) Limit the number of Govt approved importers, which is the right answer? A or B? |
Re: Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election By Charles Soludo by DrDre1(m): 7:48pm On Jan 27, 2015 |
Sentiments aside, this is a nice piece from Prof. Soludo. Whatever issues he has with Jonathan, Obi and the rest of them shouldn't be used to wave off the important points he raised. When Nigerians start to get a glimpse of the dark economic days the reign of Jonathan has plunged us into, then they will begin to see the havoc he has wrecked. He had everything in his possession to turn around the fortunes of Nigeria but he squandered it. I pointed out to anyone who cared to listen back then not to vote for him cos if he couldn't prove himself in the first two years, he surely won't ever. The same thing is happening all over again now after putting the country in deeper mess than he met it...and nobody should tell me he brought trains back from wherever. |
Re: Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election By Charles Soludo by XKZ(m): 9:07pm On Jan 27, 2015 |
jpphilips: NEPA was a monopoly, Nitel was a monopoly, NNPC is a monopoly. Which option do these firms fall under? Until a few years NNPC was the sole importer of petroleum products. When you have "Govt approved importers" that is not a monopoly seeing that importers is plural. |
Re: Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election By Charles Soludo by jpphilips(m): 9:35pm On Jan 27, 2015 |
XKZ: what has NEPA got to do with FOREX? Is NEPA and NNPC now imported into the country? The answer to the question lies only with A or B since you are scared of Yes or No? Even simplifying to Objectives you are still confused, I know someone who may be in the same Academic league with you, He equally attended a roofless class, I will oblige you a referral. Nothing personal just have sleep to attend to. |
Re: Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election By Charles Soludo by XKZ(m): 10:02pm On Jan 27, 2015 |
jpphilips: It seems your problem is that you don't know that you do not know. And instead of educating yourself you are trying to bamboozle your way through with (what are probably) asinine questions. Each of these firms (and monopolies like them) imported on behalf of the Federal Government (items that fell within their purview). If you were the type who paid any attention to the news you would have heard of equipment imported by NEPA/PHCN (250 containers) and left to rot in the ports because none of the successor companies was sure who now owned the goods. |
Re: Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election By Charles Soludo by Nobody: 6:27am On Jan 28, 2015 |
DrDre1:great men think alike. I remember doing same. |
Re: Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election By Charles Soludo by berrystunn(m): 2:00pm On Jan 28, 2015 |
SmartChoices: For anyone who has not read Professor Charles Soludo’s article on January 25 2015, I would encourage them to do so. It is littered with abusive and unbecoming language. It shows how an embittered loser in the Nigerian political space can get so derailed that they commit intellectual harakiri by deliberately misquoting economic facts and maliciously turning statistics on their head to justify a hatchet job. We hope all the intellectuals in the international circles, in which Professor Soludo has told us he flies around in, will read what a Professor of Economics has chosen to do with his intellect. In this one article, Soludo has shamelessly pandered to so many past leaders that Nigerians are asking one more time – what position is Soludo gunning for now? He claims in his article that he has had his own share of public service, yet he has failed twice in his attempts to be Governor of Anambra State and Vice Presidential candidate of various parties. There is definitely an issue of character with Prof. Charles Soludo and his desperate search for power and relevance in Nigeria. Nigerians should therefore beware of so-called intellectuals without character and wisdom because this combination is fatal. But let us turn to the main subject of Soludo’s discourse. So much of what is written is outright nonsense and self-seeking aggrandizement that need not be dignified with a response. It is totally remarkable that Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, the man who presided over the worst mismanagement of Nigeria’s banking sector as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria between May 2004 and May 2009, can write about the mismanagement of the economy. Nigerians must be reminded of his antecedents as CBN Governor, and even prior to that, as the Chief Economic Adviser to the President. The consolidation of the banking sector was a good policy idea of the Obasanjo Administration, but Soludo went on to thoroughly mismanage its implementation leading to the worst financial crisis in Nigeria’s history. So what did Soludo do? After consolidation, the regulatory functions of the Soludo-led CBN were very poorly exercised. As Governor, he failed to adequately supervise and regulate the now larger banks – an anomaly in Financial Sector Supervision. In fact as every Nigerian knows, in his time there was very little separation between the regulators and the regulated, which is a violation of a key requirement of Central Banking success. This led to infractions in corporate governance in many banks as loans and other credit instruments running to hundreds of billions of naira were extended to clients without following due process, and several of these loans could not be paid back. This massive accumulation of bad debts, or non-performing loans as they are called in the banking sector, meant that our banks were ill-positioned to deal with the global financial crisis when it hit. In fact, the banking sector was brought to its knees and required a massive bailout by Nigerian tax payers. This bailout was done by his successor (now Emir of Kano), who cleaned up all the bad debts and transferred them to the newly-established AMCON (Asset Management Company of Nigeria), from where they are managed today. So let it be noted for the record books that Soludo’s single-handed mismanagement of the banking sector led to an incredible accumulation of liabilities that will cost tax payers about N5.67 trillion (being the total face value of AMCON-issued bonds) to clean up. Let it be noted also that this amount, which is more than the entire Federal Government 2015 Budget, constitutes the bulk of Nigeria’s “contingent liabilities” mentioned in Soludo’s article. It is only in Nigeria where someone who perpetrated such a colossal economic atrocity would have the temerity to make assertions on public debt and the management of the economy. Let us now look at some of the points he makes. Luckily, Soludo has told us that he has been busy travelling internationally, hobnobbing with his global partners. It is obvious from this article that from the rarefied heights at which he is flying he is completely out of touch with what is happening with the management of this economy. Take his comments on the mismanagement of the economy and the imposition of the austerity measures. The present fall in oil prices, a global phenomenon over which Nigeria has no control, has given every charlatan the opportunity to attack the economy, and by extension the managers of the economy. It is true that the economy grew well during the second-term of former President Obasanjo as a result of the reforms supported by the President and implemented by the Economic Management Team. Please note that the Finance Minister under whose leadership that good performance took place, including massive unprecedented debt relief, is still Finance Minister today. But thorough examination of the facts on performance under the Jonathan Administration will also reveal that at a time when global economic performance was mediocre, with GDP (gross domestic product) growth averaging about 3 percent per annum, Nigeria’s GDP growth – averaging about 6 percent per annum – is indeed remarkable. Even more interesting is the fact that the oil sector did not drive this economic performance, but the non-oil sector (Agriculture, Manufacturing, Telecommunications, the Creative Economy, and so on), which shows that the current Administration’s diversification objective under the Transformation Agenda is working. Transformation equals diversification This current government managed to control inflation, which he Soludo, was not able to do during his time at the helm of monetary policy in Nigeria. When he left the Central Bank in 2009, inflation – which hurts the poor and vulnerable in the society the most – was above 13 percent per annum. Now, inflation is at single-digit, at 8 percent per annum. What about exchange rates? Well this administration again managed to stabilize the Naira exchange rates, such that between May 2011 and the end of 2014, official exchange rates against the dollar rarely moved out of the N153 to N156 band. It is only with the recent dramatic fall in oil prices and the consequent impact on our foreign reserves that the exchange rate has become quite volatile. The drop in oil price has been heavy and rapidly impacting all oil producing nations significantly. Nigeria is no exception and appropriate fiscal and monetary policy measures are being put in place to manage this situation. In fact, history will recall that careless remarks by Prof. Soludo (then Chief Economic Adviser to the President) hypothesizing a possible Naira devaluation, condemned the Naira to a free fall towards the end of 2003. Ray Echebiri, in his 2004 article in the Financial Standard, wrote that not even the assurances given by the then CBN Governor, Mr. Joseph Sanusi or President Obasanjo that any plans to devalue the Naira existed only in the head of Professor Soludo could halt the fall of the Naira from N128 to the dollar in the official market to about N140 between September and December 2003. It is true that our foreign reserve accumulation is less than what it should be, but the reason for this has been fully given, not as excuses, but simply as fact: lower oil production and crude oil theft along with the refusal to save in the Excess Crude Account (ECA) are the reasons. Contrary to what Soludo said, oil production under President Obasanjo was higher than current levels. Quantities produced averaged 2.4 million barrels per day, bpd; 2.22 million bpd, and 2.21 million bpd in 2005, 2006, and 2007 respectively, but has declined now to between 1.95 and 2.21 million bpd due to vandalism of the pipelines and the resulting “shut-ins” to fix the problem. It is true that had production been at the previous levels and had there been willingness to save, we would have had more money in the ECA and also in the reserves. But, the overriding setback to savings is that the State Governors felt it was their constitutional right to share the money. Please recall that even as we speak the States have taken the Federal Government to the Supreme Court on this issue. Soludo’s claim that 71 percent of Nigerians live below the poverty line is misleading and disingenuous. He uses 2011 statistics on poverty by the NBS to support his argument, while ignoring more recent figures. But, as stated in the Nigeria Economic Report 2014 by the World Bank, poverty rate in Nigeria has dropped from 35.2 percent of population in 2010/2011 to 33.1 percent in 2012/2013. By the way, the reason why our poverty numbers have been so wrong is that the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, under Soludo’s supervision as CEA and Vice-Chair of the National Planning Commission, departed from the international standard method of poverty measurement. Is he now ignoring the right economic statistics to wilfully manipulate information? No doubt we have a problem with unemployment in this country and we must deal with it. Indeed, this Administration is dealing with it and stands proud of what it has accomplished so far and is pushing hard to accomplish much more. As a first step, the Administration, through the office of the Chief Economic Adviser to the President and the NBS, worked hard to determine how many jobs we need to create in a year. What you don’t measure you cannot make progress on. Why didn’t Soludo do this when he was CEA? We need to create about 1.8 million jobs a year in this country to cater for the new entrants into the labour market, but we also need to deal with the backlog of the unemployed and the underemployed, e.g. those selling on the streets. Dealing with this global challenge of unemployment is not an incredible accumulation of liabilities that will cost tax payers about N5.67 trillion incredible accumulation of liabilities that will cost tax payers about N5.67 trillion incredible accumulation of liabilities that will cost tax payers about N5.67 trillion easy task for any country, as can be seen from the experiences of developed countries particularly in the euro area. But the Jonathan Administration is making good progress, creating an average of about 1.4 million jobs per year by driving quality growth in key sectors like Agriculture, where the bulk of new jobs are being created, Housing, Manufacturing, Financial Services, and the Creative Industries like Nollywood. In addition we have special programs to promote job creation among the youth and these include: – Promoting entrepreneurship among the youth through the “Nagropreneurs” program to support 750,000 youth farmers with grants and training, and the YOUWIN program that is directly supporting up to 5,400 young entrepreneurs with grants, training, and mentorship and so far beneficiaries are creating an average of 9 jobs each, for themselves and others. About 22,000 jobs have been created by the first 2,400 youwinners. – Graduate Internship Scheme: that is reducing the vulnerability of unemployed graduates by enhancing their employability. The Scheme targets up to 50,000 unemployed graduates in the 36 states of the Federation and FCT and about 22,000 graduates have so far been placed by the program. – Community Services Scheme under SURE-P: developed to empower young unskilled Nigerians, women and people with disabilities. About 120,000 mostly young workers have been engaged across the country On the issue of debt, Nigerians deserve to know the truth and we have said it before. The truth is that the government borrowed in 2010 to pay an unprecedented 53.7 percent wage increase to all categories of federal employees as demanded by labour unions. The total wage bill rose from N857 billion in 2009 to about N1.4 trillion in 2010, and as a result, domestic borrowing increased from N200 billion in 2007 to about N1.1 trillion in 2010 to meet the wage payments. Where was Soludo at the time? Why did he not react to the borrowing then? Was it because he wanted to pander to labour in preparation for his political career? It is noteworthy that since 2011, the Administration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has been prudent with the issue of debt and borrowing. The Economic Management Team not only looks at debt to GDP ratio, where Nigeria has one of the lowest numbers in the world at 12.51 percent but it looks at debt service to revenues. That is why in spite of the rebasing and a larger GDP, the administration has taken a prudent approach to borrowing. The prudent approach helped to drive down domestic borrowing from N1.1 trillion in 2010 to N642 billion in 2014. In fact for the first time in our nation’s borrowing history we even managed to retire N75 billion of domestic bonds outright in 2013. Despite the present tough situation, we do not plan to go on a borrowing spree but to keep borrowing modest at a level sufficient to help us weather the present situation. We have already ramped up efforts to generate more non-oil revenues for the government while cutting costs of governance. Therefore, Soludo’s claim that this Administration is reckless with debt does not hold true. Since Soludo seems so ignorant to what has been achieved by the Jonathan Administration, let us present just a few examples of them here again. This information is easily verified. We are improving infrastructure across the country. For example, 22 airport terminals are being refurbished, and five new international airport terminals under construction in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kano, Abuja, and Enugu. Soludo’s kinsmen in the South East now have an international airport in Enugu, and for the first time in Nigeria’s history can fly direct from Enugu to anywhere in world for which they are very grateful to this Administration. But with Soludo being up in the air with his international travels, he has not touched ground in the Southeast to observe this development for himself. Various road and bridge projects have either been completed or are under construction. Those completed include the Enugu – Abaliki road in Enugu/Ebonyi States, the Oturkpo – Oweto road in Benue State, the Benin – Ore – Shagamu highway, and the Abuja – Abaji – Lokoja dualization, and the Kano – Maiduguri dualization. The Lagos – Ibadan expressway and the Second Niger Bridge are under construction. Rail from Lagos to Kano is now functional, as is parts of the rail link between Port Harcourt and Maiduguri. All these have brought transport costs down. We recognise that more needs to be done in the power sector, but bold steps (like the privatisation of the GENCOs and DISCOs) have been taken, and our gas infrastructure is being developed to power electricity generation In Agriculture, over 6 million farmers now have access to inputs like fertilizers and seeds through an e-wallet system, which is more than the 403,222 that had access in 2011. Rice paddy production took off for the first time in our history, adding about 7 million MT to rice supply. An additional 1.3 million MT of Cassava has also been produced and as a result, the rate of food price increase has slowed considerably, according to the NBS. In Housing, we have put in place a new wholesale mortgage provider – the Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Corporation (NMRC) – to provide affordable mortgages to ordinary Nigerians, starting with those in the low-middle income bracket. This sector will help the economy grow as we tap it as an economic driver for the first time. Mortgage applications from 66,000 people are currently being processed and 23,000 have already received mortgage offers Our Manufacturing sector is reviving with new automobile plants by Nissan, Toyota, etc. This is in addition to the backward integration policy in key sectors like petrochemical, sugar, textiles, agro processing and cement, which Nigeria is now producing 39,000 MT and exporting to the region. The Creative sector is now a factor in our GDP, with Nollywood alone accounting for 1.4 percent, creating over 200,000 direct jobs and nearly 1 million indirect jobs. This is the first Administration to recognise its importance and support its further development with a grant program. A new bank – the Development Bank of Nigeria – will soon be operational and this bank will help bridge the access to finance gap, which is a major constraint for the private sector especially SMEs. The bank will provide long-term (5 – 10 years) financing at affordable rates for the first time in our nation’s history. This is the path that the government has been on before this fall in oil prices. The response to the economic shock has been spelled out to the Nigerian public over and over again, and the Administration intends to focus on managing this crisis appropriately. This year will be difficult. To say anything less to Nigerians will be untruthful. It would have been better if there had been a bigger cushion of the Excess Crude Account to manage this situation but despite this the nation can rise to the challenge. More importantly, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and the Economic Management Team are seeing this as an opportunity to diversify the revenue sources of an already diversifying economy. In fact let me at this juncture use this opportunity to comment on Soludo’s appalling statement that rebasing brings no policy value. Rebasing has enabled us to better grasp the new diversified nature of our economy. This provides the basis for our present drive to support different sectors with appropriate policy instruments to enhance their development. Rebasing has also enabled the Administration to create the platform from which to drive our work on increasing non-oil revenues. These are areas of critical policy value. Soludo mentioned the issue of the Economic Partnership Agreement with the EU, noting that this Administration has not been vocal or clear on its direction with this agreement. On the contrary, the Administration, particularly the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment, has been clear on this issue but since Soludo has been in the air he probably has not been aware of this. Just recently, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment reiterated again to the corporate sector that Nigeria has not signed and does not propose to sign the EPA in its present form. The point is that this government has been pursuing the right economic policies, and its efforts have been acknowledged nationally and internationally. Let me say that there are objective ways to measure performance. There are international institutions globally accepted to do this. They have acknowledged this Administration’s good economic management up to the recent crisis and even now. We cannot go by someone’s subjective view, driven by bitterness and bile. We need to look to the truth and to professionalism. This is where Professor Soludo totally fails. For the other gratuitous, political, and personal attacks, we are sure that those mentioned will respond appropriately. It is a sad day for Nigeria and the economics profession that someone like Soludo, a former CBN governor should write such an article. If Soludo wants to regain respect, he should return to the path of professionalism. He certainly needs something to improve his image from that of someone whose sojourn into National Economic Management ended in disaster for the banking sector, his sojourn in politics, ended in overwhelming rejection by the electorate, and more recently, his sojourn abroad, has put him out of touch with the reality of the Nigerian economy. Paul C Nwabuikwu Special Adviser to the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance |
Re: Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election By Charles Soludo by Ghost01(m): 10:34pm On Jan 28, 2015 |
Bless you, Mr. Soludo, for this piece! |
Re: Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election By Charles Soludo by flowjoe: 6:13am On Jan 29, 2015 |
Words of a sound mind |
Re: Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond The Election By Charles Soludo by saintiago1980: 11:22pm On Jan 30, 2015 |
Jonathan must win this election and his read to take nigeria to the promise land. |
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