National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has raised a nine-point suggestion to the Federal Government, including stimulus package and increase spending to prevent individuals, companies and even state governments from imminent disaster during hard times.

Specifically, he wants the Federal Government to increase naira expenditure to about 15 per cent, jack up health spending, lower interest rate, deal with the exchange rate by allowing some pressure on the naira, carry out tax reduction, food security, suspend pilling of debts and increase stipends’ payment to the poor.

In a statement titled “A message on the Coronavirus: A time for unity, a time for thought, a time for action,” issued in Lagos, on the occasion of his 68 birthday, today, Tinubu noted that: “Not only is the coronavirus a health and medical problem, it will bring heavy economic costs. China and the West face severe economic contractions. Cities are shuttered. Multiple industries have closed. Millions have suddenly been rendered jobless. Supply chains have busted. Economic activity is a fraction of what it was just a month ago. Deep recessions are forecasted.”

Tinubu said at this historic emergency, should the circumstances require increase spending, the Federal Government should not hesitate to do so; “but we must keep the watchful eye to ensure inflation does not climb too high,” assuring, however, that Nigeria shall rise above current challenges.

The party leader, who said he resorted to offering these “humble comments in hope that they contribute to halting the spread and ill consequences of this dreadful sickness” because the coronavirus put a brake on the colloquium, which has held regularly for the last 11 years, called on government, corporate organisations and individuals to raise their current efforts.

He added: “A touch of extra inflation from enhanced government spending is a small price to pay. In fact, it is a price that must be paid. The alternative may be a harmful deflation which historically has proven more difficult to tame and cure than a small inflationary increase.”

Tinubu said that in imitation of other countries like the conservative Donald Trump government which has abandoned its laissez faire ideology in the face of this exigency, and promised to inject $2trillion into the economy, with the possibility of raising the stimulus package to $4 trillion, and China, Britain and Germany with like sums, Nigeria should take drastic steps “to save both lives and livelihoods.

“We, fortunately, are not at the stage where we need to implement such strong economic measures; however, we should be preparing a response for that urgent moment may fall swiftly upon us. In doing so, we must be guided by the same lessons other nations have followed.

“When it comes to expenditures that can only be made in dollars, we must be extra careful. Dollars now come at a steep premium. However, when it comes to expenditures that can be made in naira, government cannot afford to be bashful or reticent when the need arises.

“Already, the price of oil has fallen to less than 30 dollars a barrel. This will bring a dollar shortfall. This does not, however, necessitate a corresponding shortfall in public sector naira expenditures. The US controls dollar issuance. We control naira issuance as is our sovereign right. Just as America has used its sovereign right to issue its currency to stave off economic disaster, so too may Nigeria issue naira for the same purpose.

“While individuals, companies and even state governments can go bankrupt during hard times, the Federal Government cannot become naira insolvent because it has the ability to issue our national currency. He who holds the printing press is never insolvent. The most serious concern and limitation on federal naira spending is not insolvency but inflation.

“For the past 11 years, a colloquium was held on my birthday. Each year, the colloquium gathered some of our best minds in both the public and private sectors. They would dissect and explore the weighty issues of the day in order to find solutions to the social, political and economic difficulties that confront our nation. However, the threat of the coronavirus obligated colloquium organisers to postpone the event; we did not want a large number of people gathered in a relatively compact physical space. This was a decision well taken,” he said.

Tinubu added that it was true that Nigeria and other African countries are among the nations thus far least affected. “However, we must not think this means geography and climate have erected a protective shield on our behalf. At best, these things constitute a partial barrier that may have slowed but will not prevent the growing threat.

“The foremost imperative is that we recognize that corona is here. We must cast aside the myths that we have comforted ourselves with these past weeks. We told ourselves this was not a black man’s disease. We took false comfort in this self-deception. Well, black people have contracted the ailment; black people have also died from it.

“China and other Asian nations took drastic, wholesale action to thwart the viral spread. North America and Europe initially took small steps against the virus. Those did not work. Now they are fast implementing lockdowns of whole cities and closures of key segments of their economies.

“We have entered a sobering period. We face a challenge we cannot see but one that can find us all too easily. As individuals, this puts every one of us at a startling disadvantage. Each is rendered vulnerable by the reckless act of his neighbour. Each is made safer by the enlightened conduct of a stranger. The very nature of this assailant calls us toward greater unity and kindness.

“In the normal push of our daily affairs, we tend to focus on what divides us. We are APC, PDP or another political affiliation. One person is rich. Another is poor. There is the labourer then there is the boss. One person is of the north, another of the south, with both often acting as if the boundary between the two cannot be traversed.

“We are of different ethnic groups; these identities mean so much to us that we behave as if the affiliations are the very source of our humanity. In this, we tend to forget God. Even when we worship God, we divide ourselves in ways that too often bring violence to a way of life meant to bring peace and compassion.

“But, the coronavirus is now here. If we carry forth in our usual ways, we may well carry ourselves into national disaster. Normal practices will not suffice. We all must do better lest we all fail and suffer the grave consequences of collective failure. We pray that this terrible cloud will pass from us. However, we must prepare for the possibility that it may linger to rain hard upon us.

“We cannot afford to put undue pressure on our system because it cannot bear the great weight of a pandemic. Thus, it is incumbent on us to thoroughly implement and obey social safety and distancing techniques so that we halt the spread of the disease and keep hospitalization to the barest possible minimum.”

The party leader called for limiting our social contacts, unless for necessary matters, no one should venture out, but to purchase food and other essential. “Places like banks offer needed services such as cash withdrawals. But they should limit the number of customers in the bank at any given time. Supermarkets and grocers should do the same.

“We should continue to postpone sporting events, weddings, and other large gatherings. Funerals, if they must take place, should be attended only by small numbers of family members. While we put aside the large events for now, we must do better looking after our fellow man. Please check on a neighbour. Make sure the elderly near you are well and have food and water.

“Use this moment to teach your children about compassion and the traditional values of care and concern that often get diluted in our rush toward modernity and growth,” he said.

Bros leave dis ur tax and vat cockandbull stories...peel out as others peel out...u can come back and lecture d govt on "Tax 101 and Vat 111".