A former Governor of
the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has said President
Muhammadu Buhari had worsened the “very bad” economic situation he
inherited
when he assumed power in 2015.
“Buhari met a very
bad situation when he assumed power, but he has made the situation worse. Nigeria
today is a fragile state with a failing economy. Some say failing state; some
say failed state.
“The economy is not
just in recession; we are suffering from massive economic compression. Saying
it is recession trivialises the issue."
Soludo spoke at the
‘Big Ideas Podium’, a public policy debate organised by the Afri Heritage
Institution in Enugu, where he canvassed what he termed a “citizens united”
campaign by Nigerians to demand change and accountability from government at
all levels.
Speaking on the
theme, ‘Prognosis of the Nigerian Economy 2017’, Soludo said Nigeria was fast
approaching the status of a failed state.
The former apex bank
chief noted that it would take nothing short of a miracle for the Federal
Government to return the naira to its exchange rate to the dollar as of the
time Buhari took over on May 29, 2015.
He said, “It will be
a miracle if after eight years, by the time it leaves office in 2023, the
current administration is able to return the economy in dollar terms to the
exchange rate it met when it took over.
“The truth is this
government inherited a very bad situation, but it has made it very much worse.”
He criticised what
he described as the “official policy of waiting for the oil price to rise.”
Soludo said the
government cannot be relied upon to provide the change that Nigerians desire.
The solution to the
quest for change, according to him, is a citizens’ united campaign that will
put government on its toes.
He called on
Nigerians to agitate for the implementation of campaign promises by government
at all levels, noting that the country would make progress if political parties
kept at least 25 per cent of the promises they made before coming to power.
Soludo said, “Only
citizens united can rescue Nigeria, not just the government alone. It is a big
luxury for anybody to say I am minding my business, because what others do will
come to mind your own business for you sooner than later.
“We can’t get the
leadership that we desire but we can get the leadership that we demand and work
for. If only each party or government implements 25 per cent of their promises,
Nigeria will be a great country.”
He added, “If you
see the governments run by APC, PDP and APGA, they are all the same, because
Nigerians don’t hold them accountable. We must resolve as citizens not to let
government off again; peaceful agitation must be encouraged and tolerated in
this country. Everybody must be allowed to have a voice.
“For example, the
APC promised us that they were going to restructure Nigeria; before the
elections, they said the current structure was not working, they said that
Nigeria was becoming a failed state; but now, they are in power and they are
not getting it done.
“Unless we citizens
rise up and tell the government ‘deliver on what you promised’, they will not
get it done.”
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