Letter to IMF
By
You probably will remember me as that stubborn journalist, who despite the lectures, entreaties and cajoling by various departmental heads and experts, did not see the wisdom in asking that the prices of fuel in Nigeria should be increased, that the Naira should be allowed to depreciate on a free fall basis, that Nigeria needed to have a $1 billion loan facility with the IMF, that the Nigerian ports should be thrown open to all kinds of imports, that port tariffs should be drastically reduced. As you will remember, this happened about 18 months or so ago at your posh Washington office.
Now, as then, I still disagree with you and the entire Africa department, and indeed the IMF. You will probably recall too that I said that you, as outsiders, enjoying an unbelievable sheltered life, looking in, through a very narrow prism into Nigeria, are not in a good position to prescribe to us how we should manage the nation’s economic affairs. You are too far removed, too divorced from the common Nigerian man and woman’s life reality. Your one-for-all prescription just cannot work.
From the current brouhaha in Nigeria, it would appear that you and the IMF have stubbornly stuck to the imperialist economic school theories designed primarily to feather the nest of the economic giants of the world. If you take another look, even at the IMF set up, you will realise that you are not designed to pull any third world nation out of the woods; you never have, and I dare say, you never will. Nigeria, I hope will be your only exception.
That is not to doubt your personal sincerity, it is not to say you do not genuinely have interest in seeing a better managed Nigerian economy. Unfortunately, however, the organisation you represent, and the brand of economic pills you recommend are designed to serve first and foremost, the interests of the real owners of the International Monetary Fund, who happen to be the real winners of the Second World War, rather than serve the interests of Nigeria.
But then Nigeria, as you must have discovered, is a nut case. With an insincere leadership, populated mainly by thieves masquerading as patriots, villains as heroes, with a large stubborn segment who will never say die, even if the IMF’s prescriptions were totally genuine, it would be one hectic job to pull the nation out of the wood.
Your organisation concerns itself with the economic side of government when in Nigeria, as in other countries, the politics decides the economics. Take for example, President Olusegun Obasanjo, who sees himself as a saint, a messiah of sorts, who nevertheless surrounds himself with the same thieving band who were with our late felon, the dark goggled thief, General Sani Abacha.
To your exasperation, I hope, the daylight robberies in government rather than abate have developed new tentacles, new devious strands, and thanks to the two faced Western nations, the siphoning of funds abroad have continued with a fresh vigour.
Have you ever wondered why the much talked about anti-corruption law has never taken off, why the President, though preaching to the contrary, has been so powerless to implement it?
Is it not an embarrassment to you that the same man that is talking about deregulation (he confuses this with increasing the prices of petroleum products) of the down stream sector of the economy, which I personally support, does not believe in true federalism? Let me break that down. The IMF does not concern itself with politics. How about fiscal federalism? Why is our President so against it?
I am sure the IMF would have nothing against the people of the Niger/Delta who want to have a say in how their resources are exploited, in the ecological devastation of their lands and rivers, in the environmental spoilation of the region; who are now asking for control of their resources.
Your good friend, the President, would neither have that nor would he allow a state like Lagos enjoy the benefit of the revenue accruing from tax. He wants everything at the centre with him.
Those I have already described as your two faced owners, the United States of America, Britain and Germany, while in one breath preach capitalism, in the other encourage, support and equip President Obasanjo’s zeal to subjugate the Niger/Delta and indeed the Southern states. America is currently arming and training the Nigerian army for the eventual genocide the President is possibly planning for the people of the Niger/ Delta who have been asking that something be done about their abject state. Germany supplies one of the economic advisers. Britain sees no evil in all that is going on.
But Mr. Hino, I want to extend an invitation to you. I am inviting you to come and visit me. I would want to show you things that will enable you better formulate economic policies for my nation. I want to show you the other side of Nigeria, which would make it better, qualify for an HIPC (Highly Indebted Poor Countries) status.
Yes, our leaders are very rich; rich from the wealth of the nation, which they have appropriated and stored in foreign banks. But our people are very poor. You need to see them to be able to humanise your policies for this country since we are stuck with you and the IMF for now. Come to think about it again, your presence, as a moderating influence on this government, can also be for the good of this nation.
So Hino, do please honour my invitation. Come.