Professor of political economy and former
presidential candidate Pat Utomi shared this on his
Facebook this morning. Read and tell us what you
think...
The firestorm generated by Chukwuma Soludo’s
well reasoned commentary on the place of issues
in the 2015 electioneering campaign has somehow
become the core of the campaign. What a way to
come from outside and define agenda.
Of course I do not agree with all the points
marshaled by the erstwhile CBN Governor and
Patito’s Gang member, but not to commend his
citizen duty of engagement or indicate as
reprehensible the resort to ad hominen bashing
of the former Economic Adviser instead of
providing Facts to counter the views he had
raised.
That is issues based campaign. I will myself raise
logic to support and dispute some of the points in the
Soludo intervention.
I do agree with Soludo that issues matter. I also think
that those who turn to divisive emotion-laden
typecasting of others rather than issues pertaining to
the well being of the Nigerian people do a grave
disservice not only to democracy but to the long term
common Good of all.
The Soludo thrust of criticism sounds like an attack
on the statist perspective that intervention can
generate jobs and economic growth. Even as one
who likes to see government out of the way, I find the
approach worrying because beyond the Keynesian
logic that brought the ultimate capitalist state, the US,
out of the Great Depression with initiatives like the
Tennessee Valley Authority in Infrastructure, there is
more recent example of post 2008 global financial
crisis and the stimulus packages of the Obama
Administration, and now Europe turning to
Quantitative Easing, not to knock the wall street /
Main street tag team approach to ensuring
prosperity. Soludo’s solutions sometimes sounded
like Deepak Lal on the poverty of Development
Economics. I think that if we see current oil price
slum as an opportunity rather than a threat then we
have to see a role for government in the way Lee
Kuan Yew used state intervention when Singapore
was prostrate in 1965, as Nigeria is today.
This leads to another point I am not in agreement
with Soludo on. He talks about cost of programmes
and the fact that low oil prices mean you cannot
finance a big idea. In 1965 Singapore’s main revenues
came from rent for the British Naval Base and the
British had decided to shut all bases east of Eden.
The decision of leaders of the United Malay, National
Organisational (UMNO) to eject Singapore from the
Federation that was thought to be the only hope left.
Singapore, out of pocket, and all dressed up with
nowhere to go. Then they rolled up their sleeves, got
creative, transmitted the right values and found
leadership that inspired and had integrity. Today the
small country probably has the largest concentration
of billionaires per capital on earth.
Here in Nigeria, shortly after self government, in the
1950’s, Nnamdi Azikiwe as Premier of Eastern Region
was anxious to match the free education policy of
Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Palm Produce did not fetch
as much as Cocoa in the Market. The civil servants
led by the new Permanent Secretary in Finance, Chief
Jerome Udoji thought it could not be done because
of limitations of money. Zik insisted and accused
Udoji, in Parliament, of trying to sabotage his
government. After 40 percent of the Eastern Nigeria
budget of 1957 had gone to education and was still
inadequate, the Ugoji team suggested the
introduction of fees for Primary 1 and Primary 5. But
leadership kicked in. A philosophy called “Ibu anyi
danda” raised a formula that created a partnership
between government, the communities and
missionaries that enabled the East leapfrog the gap
in education between the East and West.
In both cases the difference was leadership. At the
centre in Abuja for some reason that may be from
exposure, or whatever, does not inspire as Lee Kuan
Yew, Nnamdi Azikiwe and Michael Okpara did. Money
is not everything in making dreams come through.
Among the many lessons we will learn, if we begin to
operationalize the cash transfers initiative of APC, a
concept that helped Inatio Da Silva pull Brazil out of
‘potential’ into a global economic powerhouse, is that
we may not need as much cash as Soludo projects
and that corruption and goal displacement is so high
in a bloated public service that the savings will more
than be adequate. Besides from Kayode Fayemi and
Rauf Aregbesola we learn that with such
programmes in Ekiti and Osun that the numbers
projected are often exaggerated. Given our abuse of
census we are likely to find much fewer people in
those brackets. Check with the Bill Gates Foundation
on satellite imagery studies of target population
groups.
Having stated my major point of disagreement, it is
useful to reflect on some other points raised by
Soludo.
His broadside on austerity measures pronouncement
and the road to austerity is a true, fair and proper
read. No question that we walked with our eyes open
into a repeat of 1982. In many of my speeches and
my 2006 book WHY NATIONS Are Poor, I recall how
the Iranian revolution pushed oil prices into the
stratosphere of USD 40 a barrel. We went reckless
with champagne and even importing sand and big
men bought Rolls Royces. We managed to borrow
ourselves into a dept trap. On this round we moved
up private jets and buying up Dubai.
When this current boom started with India Rising and
China producing I recall on several occasions calling
for fiscal responsibility compact in which flows into
the distributable pool, the FAC account, not go above
$40 a barrel, with additional revenues up to $70 a
barrel price going to a stabilization fund. This fund
would be available were prices to drop below $40 to
be used to ensure a constant budget funding up $40
in lean times. Beyond $70 it should flow into a future
fund. I have been singing this song for several years
but the technocrats say the politicians insist on
sharing the whole money and say of talk about saving
for a rainy day that it is pointless planning for the
rain when it was already pouring torrents. My retort
was what is so wrong in resigning to make a point
and force public conversation to educate the people
because these politicians may be greedy but they
surely do not hate their children. They have only
acted in ignorance. I point them to young Mahathir
Mohammed in Malaysia who disagreed with the
position of the then Prime Minister and spoke up. He
was dropped from the government where he was a
junior minister, and expelled from The United Malay
National Organization (UMNO) the dominant party at
that time. Out of government he wrote a book: The
Malay Dilemma. That triggered soul searching that
finished with the resignation of the Prime Minister.
He was brought back into the Party. Not long after Dr
Mahathir Ibn Mohammed became Prime Minister
and the history of Malaysia changed for good.
What does it take to lead such change- Genius? No. I
draw from the Ronald Reagan experience in the US.
President Reagan was not a genius. Some think he
probably already had Alzheimer disease when he
entered the White house. But his values were clear as
was his vision. He found the right people and an
America, in retreat, was revitalized, opening the way
for teen and twenty American young stars to create a
new industry with the .com revolution. Ironically, I
have said elsewhere that the Buhari movement
somehow reminds me of the coming of Ronald
Reagan.
Let me close with a caveat. My response is a citizen
response. My prism on this is not partisan. But I am
a card carrying member of the APC. The emergence
of the APC is a culmination of my life’s quest as an
institutionalist to see the dynamic of two balanced
political parties. I was sure that without competition
between parties that are equals progress would
continue to elude Nigeria So I longed for and worked
for the scenario we have today. But I see in the
torrent of abuse on Chukwumah Soludo for speaking
truth to power and worry this thing we have worked
hard for, not in any pursuit of any self interest, but
for the advance of the common good, could be
threatened by those who fail to understand the very
idea of the public squares and the triumph of the
ideas rather than emotional outbursts that result in
tension and violence.
I have read unprintable things on line and in so many
e-groups, some more offensive than Charlie Hebdo
cartoons from both sides. This is poison we must
curb. It is a double blow when those who follow this
track are well educated. So let us leave this business
of certificates and uncompleted PHDs and hateful
portrayals of opponents in caricature from the cross
to throw backs of earlier life of candidates that seem
like Hitler’s Goebbels at work let’s examine vision of
society of challenges and the record of incumbents.
Lets ask people, regarding incumbents, is your life
better today than it was four years ago and to the
challengers how can you make these same lives
much better four years from now. To win elections
from intimidation, a shower of insults and trying to
diminish opponents rather than engage their minds
can only produce pyrrhic victory.
The worst such “victory” would be to win an election
and lose a nation through bitterness that makes it
difficult to get people to work together to advance the
shared good of the people. For people like me the
public sphere is about the pursuit of the elevated
immortality. This comes when you do what is right
and if providence beckons, as it did for Mahathir
Mohammed, lee Kuan Yew and Ronald Reagan then
you live a name that time cannot find an eraser to
rub off. Those who negate the opportunity for
progress to blossom and the triumph of the human
spirit to bring progress deserved die a thousand
times while they still inhale and exhale no matter the
title they get for their place is in infamy.
PU

Too many references and inferences...and convoluted arguments and construction...confusing...rather than driving towards a point

One of the reason things won't work out well in this country......... Big plenty grammar .we don't do that here in huguani china _shai I miss paris/france

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Pat Utomi!!!

This is the day of simple, understandable plain english................................I could hardly comprehend many of bamboozling (big) words.

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