Nigeria lost
at least N9.74 billion in 2016 as a result of multiple public holidays observed
during the year. The Guardian’s investigation revealed that in 2016 alone,
about 15 national public holidays were observed, excluding others declared in some states.
about 15 national public holidays were observed, excluding others declared in some states.
Data from
the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) for the fourth quarter (Q4 2016) showed
that 81,151, 885 workers spent 37.38 million hours during the period to
contribute N29.29 trillion to the economy at an average productivity rate of
N783.51.
Using the
same estimates, with the expectation that workers spend an average of eight
hours of productivity daily, 15 days of public holidays at N783.51 productivity
value, means N9.74 billion, representing 10 per cent of the budgetary
allocation in 19 states in 2016 when assessed on individual basis, was lost to
the idle periods.
This same
amount could deliver a fully equipped teaching hospital to enhance the
epileptic tertiary health care system in the country. The Federal Government,
on account of too many holidays in the year and the attendant economic losses
was forced to make a policy during the military regime of General Sani Abacha
prohibiting the shifting of holidays that fell on weekends to week days.
The policy
was put to test when the late Founder/Publisher of The Guardian, Dr. Alex Ibru,
was the Minister of Internal Affairs from 1993 to 1995.
However,
without repealing the policy either by promulgation or an act of parliament,
the country returned to the old practice of shifting weekend holidays to week
days, which had cost the nation a staggering N9.74 billion in 2016 alone.
Apart from
the holidays observed nationwide, there are other days reserved by some states
in the federation to mark specific occasions.
These
state-specific holidays include Osun-Osogbo festival in Osun State; Islamic New
year in Oyo State; marking of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election
in Lagos, Oyo and Osun; coronation of the Olubadan of Ibadan Day holiday; Edo
public sector day, oba’s coronation day in Edo State; as well as celebration of
Islamic New Year in Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi and Sokoto states, among others.
To address
these concerns, members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS) have urged
governments across the states and at the federal level to optimise the use of
available human and other resources efficiently for improved productivity.
The Director
General, Nigerian Employers Consultative Association (NECA), Olusegun Oshinowo
noted that “as a nation we don’t seem to appreciate that time is productivity,
productivity is money and productivity is translated to Gross Domestic Products
(GDP). The issue of excessive public holidays has to be addressed because
holiday that ordinarily should be one day, for no reason that can be cited,
government will declare two days.
“As a
country, we need to start examining the values behind each public holiday
because it reduces the capacity of the country to maximize our potential.
“I just hope
that government will be able to get its hands round public holidays without
succumbing to religious settlements. By now the nation ought to have taken a
decision on the holidays that are necessary and the ones that are not to be
able to grow the economy’.
“Beyond the
holidays declared by the Federal Government, we still have others declared by
some states which further eat deep into the productive time for this economy.
“As
employers, we don’t think government has been acting right in terms of the way
holidays are being observed. Some of them come even without sufficient notice.
“It doesn’t
really show that we are serious as a country, we must trim down the number of
holidays.” The Trade Union Congress (TUC) President Bobboi Kaigama said: “I
know that if Nigeria was paying workers per hour, she would have realised the
big loss to public holidays.”
The
Secretary General, Nigeria, International Chamber of Commerce, (ICC), Mrs.
Olubunmi Osuntuyi, said: “There is the need to begin to look at our economy
from every angle every second, minute, hour and day. We should always not be
carried away by the situation at hand, but always do analysis of the loss to
public holidays. It is not as if in other countries they don’t go for
vacations, but not as many times as we do in Nigeria. The NBS should come up
with a report of the losses we run per day of every vacation observed in this
country. We need to know the value of each public holiday and how much we can
put on it towards boosting the economy.”
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