Dashed Hopes
by
The magic year 2000 was heralded with great hopes and expectations from a wide section of Nigerians. Hopes and of a new and positive dawn in their lives. Indeed they had cause to hope and expect much from the new democratic government which was just seven months old in office having assumed office on May 29th, 1999.
The mood of the people was expectedly expectant after all they had experienced in the hands of successive military governments. Succour had finally come they reasoned, and there was this feel-good-factor in the air.
With all economic indices of life in Shambles, the new leadership promised purposefulness, direction and a concerted effort to rejuvenate the economy and reposition it for rapid transformation in the lives of the people. It promised to concentrate on the economy so as to quickly make democracy dividends manifest for all. It identified corruption as the bane of the economy, with a promise to fight it head-on. "It won't be business as usual" apparently referring to the old order which it promised to break away from. The slogan easily caught on with the people.
But as the once magic year 2000 is an about to run its full course, it is imperative to look at the economy and see how much this government has impacted on the lives of the people.
Poverty
Though the present government inherited a stagnant economy bored by a staggering inflation, with micro and macro economic indices at an alarming level, with Nigeria rated as the 13th poorest nation in the world, with Human Development Report a record 20year low, president Olusegun Obasanjo according to critics, is yet to come to full grasp of the extent of damage done to the economy, let alone come out with a comprehensive rescue programme of action to salvage the situation and jump start the economy on the road to recovery.
Unemployment and Health
As policy inconsistency easily becomes a defining feature of this government, hopes are waning for early recovery as the average Nigerian has become poorer, youth unemployment has soured, crime rate has shot up, maternal mortality rate remains the highest in the world, with an average of 1000 deaths per 50,000 live births. Medicare is expensive and out of reach of the people. The roads are in bad shape, as government increasingly seem incapable of providing social amenities to alleviate the sufferings of the people.
Its pet programme of poverty alleviation that was meant to create employment for the unemployed, in which about 10 billion naira was sunk had to be scrapped about three months ago. A pointed indication of admission of failure. The abysmal failure of PAP is not unconnected with its poor conception and articulation. As it objectives of job creation was defeated when its managers politicised it and turned it to a huge pool for doling handouts and political favours.
Privatisation
The government's privatisation programme which is meant to get the economy on track, ran into hiccups early in its life as cries of favouritism and lack of transparency rent the air. New managers of some of these Privatised parastatals and the workers have been locked in a fierce battle over management control. Workers of Unipetrol are yet to accept their new core investor, Ocean & Oil, while Mike Adenuga is on war part with the old management of NOLCHEM to assert control. The crisis over the sale of Benue Cement is yet to abate. While grumbling persist over the purchase of federal government shares in AP by Sadiq petroleum.
Nothing could be more disturbing than on the manufacturing front. Government appears confused as to how to re-energise this all-important sector which is the bedrock of any meaningful economic improvement which is still lying comatose.
Wage increase.
On May 1st 2000, the federal government announced an increased in the minimum wage of workers, which naturally elicited positive reaction from organised labour. But in doing that it appeared the federal government displayed total insensitivity and naivety to the ability of all the states to pay the approved minimum wage. The result has been the current industrial unrest that all most all the states have had to face. The case of Osun state is particularly disturbing as the crisis has become protracted. Aside the fact that most states cannot afford to pay the new minimum wage, the joy of workers over the increment was not meant to last as the federal government unilaterally increased the pump price of all petroleum products in the country by as much as 50percent, forcing the Nigerian Labour Congress to embark on a nation wide strike which consequently forced the federal government to review the prices down ward. But still holding to a marginal increase of the products.
It is because of president Obasanjo's perceived non performance that criticism have trailed his 18 months tenure. Particularly strident in his criticism of the president is Governor Orji Kalu of Abia state who was pointed out that any attempt by the president to seek re-election in 2003 would fail because the president has failed to provide credible leadership. Stressing that living conditions of the people have not improve from what they used to be, pointing out Obasanjo has failed generally in the provision of social services. He cited as example the epileptic power supply and the persistent fuel shortages in the country which has brought untold hardship on the people. As the year finally draws to a close, the economic fortunes of Nigerians is not better than it were in 1999, if anything, it has worsened.
Mr. Momodu wrote in from Lagos, Nigeria