How Fast and How Far Can We Go?
A view of the present Nigeria Economy

Abstract: This paper looks at four important things (Government and Governance, Population, Security, Inclusive Growth and partnership) that can engender development in Nigeria.

By
Ogbekene wisdom Uba





Email: ubamaholy@gmail.com




Giving the abundant human and material resources in Nigeria, the country is not where she should be and we have been called derogatory names such as dark nation, shitholes, fraudsters, terrorists, infidel and many more. According to Socrates "An unexamined life is not worth owning or living" Looking at the present economic situation of the country I want to agree and without being apologetic to say we are exactly what we are called. A country where the value placed on cows is more than that of humans, herdsman kill human just so their cows can survive which prompt me to ask if humans are living for cows or cows for human. In spite of our epileptic state of electricity, the federal government has renegotiated new terms for the supply and sale of electricity to neighboring West African countries of Benin and Niger Republics, our roads, airports, hospitals, the present xenophobic attack in South African (most Nigerians in Diaspora are treated badly), brain drain, education, and institutions are underperforming and dilapidated.
The earlier we agree to these facts the sooner it is for us as a country to move because it is no longer the time for theories. Theories do not reflect reality in Nigeria, apparently many governments and policymakers have mapped out various plans that look encouraging and positive on paper yet we are still where we are or down the drain where we used to be; which shows theory isn't the problem but something has happened and theory does not correspond to the changed reality. If this statement is true, then to revive the present situation of the country (Nigeria) then the time for conversation and complains is over. It is now time for actions and solutions. Looking at the derogatory names we are referred to presently, I am optimistic that we can justify the reason why Nigeria is not worthy of the insults. We have been called better names such as giant of Africa, emerging and growing economy, peacemakers, hospitable people and many more. Eleanor once said "nobody can make you inferior without your consent" this shows the faults in us and we have implicitly given them the right to call us derogatory names and the time to stop is now! Nigeria can work again and we have to build tomorrow Nigeria by working today. However, in line of starting work today, among other things, there are four important things or actions that we must do as a nation and they are:

Government and Governance: This is arguably the most important. If we are unable to get our Government and Governance right, we won't get other things right. Thus, there is a symbiotic relationship between the government of a country and development of which the masses are a part of this relationship and the government can be regarded as the heart. However, in Nigeria, politics trumps the economy and the government lives for themselves and have no regard for her citizens. Forming intelligent policies on how to move the country requires not only political philosophy but also an understanding of what government and governance means. Government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, often a state. It is a means by which organizational policies are enforced, as well as a mechanism for determining policy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government).
Governance is literarily used as a verb. It is an indispensable aspect that is germane for any nation to develop. Governance is a system, structure, actions and inactions design to aid/develop the political, economic and social resources of a nation or an organisation. According to Kofi Annan the former United Nations Secretary-General (1998), "Good Governance" is the single most important factor in eradicating poverty and promoting development. Thus, the lack of "Good Governance" leads to underdevelopment and the most important thing lacking in our Governance is the word "Good". Also, the vice president Prof Yemi Osinbanjo has said that the Nation needs "Good Governance". According to him (Prof Yemi Osinbanjo), we need to depart from unwholesome practice, corrupt practice and practice that have public officials harassing, intimidating or extorting individuals. This entails responsibility for the leaders that have been appointed or elected to do a particular job. Also, our political philosophy of democracy needs to be adjusted and of cause voters, registration isn't an opportunity to have a valid identity card. It is an opportunity to carry our civil obligation in electing those that would be responsible for making and executing laws. Furthermore, Nigeria practices a federal system where the central government shares power and resources to her subordinates such as the state and local government. Although, federalism is efficient in a situation where those who are like-minded come together and form a union (nation) it will benefit them. However, this is contrary to the Nigeria situation because the forces that are pulling us to come together are more than the force pushing us. Thus, a lot of focus, attention, and responsibility are placed on the federal government leaving local chairman, State governor and national assembly unchallenged. The unscientific revenue sharing across the federating unit is implicitly characterized by inequality. Due to this, the principle or the framework of fiscal adjustment can be used to achieve equality among the federating unit but the Nigeria experience reveals that the principle adopted (presently, the formula in use was that approved by former president Obasanjo in 2004 when the general population of Nigeria was about 136millon through an executive order) for resource devolution is not only unrealistic but seem to be exacerbating conflict of various proportions and dimensions in the federation. To mention but a few principles, the principle of derivation of revenue devolution implies that the state that generates the highest revenue should be given more shares. It can be said without mincing words that the principle of derivation has suffered bad application in Nigeria. No wonder the constant agitation from the Niger Delta region in the country. The principle of equality of state in revenue devolution implies that all states receive the same amount notwithstanding where the revenue is generated. Dividing funds among states in equal parts does not promote equality. Interestingly, Nigeria among all the federations of the world is the only federation applying the principle of state equality in revenue devolution and has led to agitation over the year by Nigeria Governors Forum for the restructuring of resource devolution in the country and that state should be given more money and autonomy than the federal government. Hence, a loose federation would suit Nigeria because the forces that are pulling us to come together are more than the force pushing us.

Population: No doubt our population is rapidly growing. At independent, we are 45million people and today we are over 200 million people. In the year 2050, we will be over 400 million; Africa as a continent would be over 2 billion people and those that would make the numbers above are already born. Giving this projection, our population growth had been regarded as a ticking time bomb. However, this paper is design to talk about the advantage of a growing population. The problem of population growth or overpopulation is not a problem of numbers but a problem of human welfare and development. A country can be underpopulated and remain underdeveloped and the majority of her citizens poor and miserable.
In 1798, the rapidly increasing population of Britain with poor and ill laws by the government brought distress to the Economy and led to the most well-known theory of population by Rev. Thomas Malthus. According to him, the population was increasing at a geometric progression while food increases in a slow arithmetic progression. He recommended the use of preventive checks (arises from man foresight that enable him to see future consequences, he thinks with a large family or number of children the standard of living of the family is bound to be low, hardship, ill education to his children and poverty) to escape from the impending misery. If preventive checks were not effectively used, positive checks (like diseases, war, famine, and insecurity) would automatically come into operation. However, his prediction of doom in Britain did not materialize as a result of improvement in technology, education, transportation, government laws, trade among nations and improvement in contraceptives.
Although Malthus population theory was proved to be far from reality in Britain; its impact in developing and underdeveloped country remain valid. Despite over 220years the Malthus theory of population was postulated, indicators show the theoretical predictions in some ways apply to Nigeria's economy. Agriculture which was the leading sector in the 60s has declined. As a result, food productions continue to lag behind the food requirement of the population despite the arable landmass and available mineral and natural resources available in the country. Nigeria is currently experiencing positive checks (There is poverty, malnutrition and food crises, social ills, Niger Delta crisis, Boko Haram killings, etc.). This to me is a problem of unresponsive government and an inability to augment the labour force through quality education and soft skills accusation.
The availability of natural resources does not necessarily lead to higher output or growth in the short run but the proper utilization of the labour force. Thus, population growth can be considered a positive factor in stimulating economic growth if the government operational modus rest on investment in her population also the Nigeria government should increase her education budgetary allocation to 27 percent as suggested by UNESCO this would help spur the economy.

Inclusive Growth: The World Bank defines inclusive growth as growth that is sufficient to lift large numbers out of poverty and growth that includes the largest part of the country's labour force in the economy. According to a report in 2013 by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), inclusive growth is define as where the gap between the rich and the poor is less pronounced and the growth divided is shared in a fairer way that results in improvements in living standards and outcomes that matter for peoples quality of life (e.g. good health, jobs and skills, clean environment, community support). Giving this definition, the current social and economic situations, economic indicators and available social parameters in Nigeria indicate that the country lacks inclusive growth. As Ortiz and Cummins (2011) point out, without changing the patterns of growth and distribution to make it more inclusive, it could take 800 years for the bottom billion of the global population to achieve 10 percent of global income. In the same vein, a recent report by the World Bank state that, ''the cost of inaction is significant. Under a business-as-usual scenario, where Nigeria maintains the current pace of growth and employment levels, by 2030 the number of Nigerians living in extreme poverty could increase by more than 30 million" the bank said about 50 percent of Nigeria's almost 200 million people live in poverty and Nigeria overtook India as the country with the highest number of people in extreme poverty in 2018. Thus, we have to focus on the quality of growth over the quantity of growth. Government objectives should extend beyond increasing income or high growth rate if it does not reduce poverty and increase the standard of living and well being of the people. For this, we need holistic and structured models that we will catapult and measure progress and the quality of lives in Nigeria.
Government should focus on job strategies instead of relying on growth strategies to provide jobs. Although economic growth is a requisite for job creation; the link is not automatic. To help generate more and better jobs for development, job strategies would use additional tools such as fostering entrepreneurship, developing basic skills, strengthening labour institution and mature approaches to industrial relations (world bank 2013).
Government should ensure that their objectives are completely and obviously started, government focus should be on sustainable human development instead of increasing minimum wage or gross domestic product, such as gains in human development, poverty and inequality reduction, increased economic participation and promotion of the sustainable use of natural resources and climate protection (Cafod 2014). Furthermore, there is a need to grow the financial sector in a way that will guarantee inclusiveness and competitiveness in the economy. And lastly, the need to grow inclusively in governance, the zero-sum game in the political sphere in Nigeria should be addressed and best brains should be harnessed for irrespectively.

Partnership: partnership is a long term process that can rejuvenate the entire economy and also continually enhance the quality of existence in the people. Partnership is the seventeenth point stipulated under the sustainable development goals and Nigeria needs to have a social, moral and organizational model of partnership. For example, the present situation where most Nigerians are getting more dishonest, fraudulent, wicked, inconsiderate and impatient cannot make us achieve the development we all want since these traits will fuel discontent, grief, discord, and odium which will eventually backfire on the economy. Thus, partnership entails cooperation, working together and collaboration among sectors, states, and individuals in the country. Just like the old adage that says "together we stand and divided we far". That is, we have to work together because the more we work together as a nation the farther we would move toward development.
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