DISSECTING NIGERIA'S BORROWING SYNDROME

by FRED NWAOZOR

Taking into cognizance the trend of events among Nigeria’s entities and individuals, one might be quick to assert that the country is synonymous with borrowing. On the other hand, someone might also be of the view that no one could currently live or survive in Nigeria without indulging in borrowing.

Penultimate week, precisely on 19th November 2024, the leadership of the National Assembly (NASS) announced to its members during plenary the receipt of a letter from the Presidency, requesting to borrow the sum of 2.2 billion dollars externally. In the letter, the President expressed that the targeted fund was for the complete implementation of the 2024 budget. He therefore stated that the appeal was in line with the provisions of Sections 21 (1) and 27 (1) of the Debt Management Office (DMO) Act, 2003 and the approval of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

The President further clarified that the proposed loan of #1.7 trillion naira, equivalent to about $2.2bn at the 2024 budget exchange rate of “one dollar to #800, was to partly finance the budget deficit of #9.179trn. He disclosed the fund was needed to give more strength to the ongoing projects and programmes’ implementation as enshrined in the said budget, which were designed to stabilize the economy.

According to him, the key projects to which the proceeds would be deployed formed priority sectors of the country’s economy, such as power, transport, agriculture, defence, and security. He added it would equally increase the accrual to the external reserves as the proceeds would be directly received into the account of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), thereby supporting the naira exchange rate.

Without equivocations, borrowing has become a norm among not just Nigerian political leaders, but on the African continent at large. It’s ostensibly endemic in our bloodstream, that, successive leaders have seen it as the only means of survival for any government in power. This is, no doubt, a pitiable point we have collectively found ourselves as a people.

I beg to be corrected; this isn’t the first time the incumbent administration would request for a loan to finance a budget, barely a year plus it came on board. Yet, some defenders of the government are busy trying to convince credulous Nigerians that the President has been more concerned about servicing the country’s already-incurred debt. I wonder how we intend to reconcile a situation whereby an individual or entity is servicing an incurred debt, but still requests to borrow more money to finance his/its budget for a given fiscal year.

Aside the fact that such a scenario, as mentioned above, appears or sounds paradoxical, it simply seems not unlike a situation where the led are being told by their leaders that more employment opportunities would be created for the citizens, yet most of those who are already gainfully employed are being relieved of their various jobs unannounced, citing inability of the government to sustain their wages.

It’s quite ridiculous and unheard of, that, when the Nigerian debt index has abruptly triggered to over 120 trillion naira, the government still possesses the moral ground to seek additional loan, not even internally but externally. Sometimes, I do not hesitate to ask myself how the lenders see or perceive Nigeria among the Comity of Nations, because If I were in their shoes, I wouldn’t further release any dime to the country in the name of lending. One who regularly borrows but refused to refund, or has no plan to pay back, doesn’t deserve any other lending hand.

I’m ashamed, our sister nations might be laughing at us, even though they are also chronic borrowers. Of course, two persons could be characterized by same unruly behaviour, but when that of the other becomes so extreme, his counterpart may be tempted to laugh at him not minding they both share similar lifestyle.

Another question that bothers me, or that’s earnestly begging for a candid answer is, having totally removed subsidy from petroleum products by the government, as we were informed, why then is the country’s coffer still apparently bleeding despite the huge savings achieved thus far? Does it imply the citizenry is being misinformed, or there’s something wrong somewhere, which the governed are yet to know? For Nigeria to heal of her present economic disease that requires a lobotomy, these disturbing enquiries must be candidly addressed by the government.

Let’s economically take a closer look at the actual amount involved in the loan request. Since it’s an external borrowing, the fund would be released to the beneficiary in foreign currency, precisely the US dollar. US$2.2bn is targeted to be borrowed. It’s estimated to be about #1.76trn, using #800 as the pegged exchange rate to one dollar in the 2024 budget.

In the actual sense, the naira equivalent of the proposed loan ought to base on the current economic reality, considering the fact that the present official exchange rate to a dollar has doubled (about #1760) compared to the figure stipulated in the budget. It is even more than twice the aforementioned amount (#800). In view of this prevailing reality, the naira equivalent of the external loan being requested by the Presidency should rather be about #3.8trn, contrary to the #1.7trn as was reported in the letter from the Presidency.

In other words, Nigeria intends to borrow additional approximately 3.87 trillion naira at a time when the country’s public debt, both external and domestic, had catapulted to almost #134.3trn (about $76.3bn) as at the second quarter of 2024, indicating a growth rate of 24.99% on a quarter-to-quarter basis, which marked the country’s highest debt-to-GDP ratio ever; at a time when her teeming citizens are struggling to feed, or could barely afford two-square meal per day; at a moment when small and medium-scale business ventures are liquidating on a daily basis; at a period when the economic quagmire of the followers seems irredeemable; at a time when the country’s inflation rate is about 29.90%.

If we are to be truthful to ourselves, we would comprehend that at such a critical and scary moment like this, the government is rather expected to sit at home and consider how to deeply think outside the box towards redeeming the shattered image of the Nigerian State. Our leaders must take into cognizance that a 50 naira note is almost presently useless in Nigeria’s currency.

At such a tight situation of this kind, my worry mostly lies with the members of the NASS, who are constitutionally referred to as the lawmakers. It’s noteworthy that the loan being sought was unanimously approved by the senators barely 48 hours after the request letter was read on the floor of the Senate. I strongly see no reason every requested loan by the Presidency must be approved by the legislators, irrespective of the consequences it bears. Does it signify they can’t – or have no immunity – to say NO, even when the reason for the expected rejection is so glaring?

The story remains the same in all the states across the federation. Each of the State governors has resorted to borrowing as the only means of survival, in spite of the astronomical hike in taxation in their respective revenue generations. The most painful part of it is the way and manner the legislators swiftly give any loan request an attention, without critically analyzing the factors that informed the financial demand from the governor. Similar melodrama occurs, on a regular basis, at the national level.

The Presidency might bear a genuine intention as regards utilization of the sourced funds, but the bitter truth remains that incessant borrowing has never done anyone, either a person or group, any good in whatever perspective it’s being considered. We were notified that the loan, if eventually accessed, would be channelled into critical sectors such as power, agriculture, security, and transport, but this wasn’t the first time Nigerians were served with such a palatable diet, yet in the long run, these sectors would remain unattended to.

More so, there’s reportedly a budget deficit of #9.179trn and what the government is about to borrow is just #3.87trn, which is less than 50% of the deficit. So, how does it intend to source for the remaining fund towards financing the 2024 fiscal year? Perhaps, in the nearest future, the Presidency might come up with another loan request.

In a clear term, borrowing isn’t the remedy to the Nigeria’s economic woes; rather, an avenue to further weaken the bleeding and epileptic economy. It’s high time we gave this prevailing syndrome a rethink before it consumes the entire system. Think about it! frednwaozor@gmail.com

N.B: Published in NewTelegraph Newspaper on 27/11/2024

The Best and Beast in Leadership Positions

By Fred Nwaozor

Every leadership position, irrespective of level or status, is characterized by the good, bad, and the ugly. Inasmuch as how juicy and palatable it might taste, the ordeals surrounding the highly-spiced diet might take the bearer off the track, thereby making him/her dine with ‘a spirit’.

Anyone who is yet to assume any position of authority may not actually comprehend the tune of this analysis. But if you have experienced any, one wouldn’t be far from the truth if he says you would be smiling while reading this, because you had personally dined with the aforementioned spirit and probably conquered.

While growing up, I saw myself as one who was naturally imbued with leadership skills; and in my own little way, I was showcasing it. I could informally assemble members of my peer group, and effortlessly counsel them. I was enjoying the task and relationship, not until one fateful day when one of us displayed an unforgettable character just to discredit my person.

The essence of the above reference is to indicate that, as little as we were, someone was already envying the service I was rendering to my childhood pals, even though I was obviously gaining absolutely nothing from the position. Meanwhile, this topic is informed by the need to highlight both the pleasant and unpleasant features of a leadership post, hence let me not be so quick in discussing the latter.

Leadership responsibility takes you closer to the best point; it brings out the hidden best in you. You may initially be of the view that your person lacks the ability to handle a certain leadership position, but the moment you occupy it, you would inadvertently find yourself exercising the required capability.

A leadership post serves as a motivational tool. It propels the occupant to possess the zeal to do more. It triggers that innermost motivation in you that wouldn’t have ordinarily being displayed if you never occupied the position. It reinvigorates the passion that might had left you in the past. The passion and vigour to triumph will invariably knock at your door, thereby awakening the candid quest to work extra mile towards actualizing a conceived goal. The intent to do more would keep flying in your mindset.

It attracts innovation. As the incumbent occupant of the position, there’s a natural tendency that would make you yearn for innovative ideas. You would want to do better than your predecessor; you would wish people see you as the best thus far since inception of the position whenever you eventually left. Every genuine leader is desired to leave a legacy as s/he takes a bow after tenure expiration. In other words, he wants to be reckoned as second to none, not second best.

It keeps you informed at all times. As a leader, you would always be ahead of others as regards information receipt. A leadership position gives you that desire to acquire firsthand news concerning your jurisdiction, hence would detest to receive it as stale. Of course, “information is power”, because it gives you the needed tool for adequate preparation toward averting inconsequential excuses. A leader is in a good position, and has all it takes, to be aptly informed.

Away from the fascinating intrigues of a leadership position, there are some other uncalled feelings that might preoccupy your mind, hence making you stay off the track unwittingly as the journey progresses. The position intoxicates, regardless of its status. There’s a sense of intoxication one feels while occupying a post of authority; he feels drunk on some occasions, especially when taking decision on critical issues or while addressing his subordinates. By so doing, he would mistakenly step on the toes of his superiors, or the king makers, as the case may be.

It only takes His grace for leaders to retrace their steps whenever they’re intoxicated. This is the reason a leader who does not recognize his creator, usually fumbles in the long run, thereby finds himself crumbling without pulsation. One thing you must acknowledge as a leader is that, you can never successfully do it alone without a mentor, guardian, and/or counsellor, or what have you; this is a fact you mustn’t take for granted. Leadership must be a teamwork if truly you intend to excel.

Another bitter side of leadership positions is sycophancy. I’ve in the past done a very extensive work on this; as an analyst, I took time to dissect the intricacies of the monster called sycophancy. Believe it or not, any form of leadership is synonymous with sycophancy, and the latter kills any leader who isn’t careful enough faster than poison would. It’s a tool that swiftly devours a leader, even when he is decorated with an uncommon armour.

In his words, Silver Mars opined “A friend who agrees with everything that you say and do, is worse than the foe. Beware the sycophant!” Being human, particularly a leader, you would desire to see everyone dancing to all your tunes, forgetting that anyone could err. Everybody desires to witness people’s acceptance over their opinions or decisions, let alone a leader.

While in the position, people would invariably troop in to tell you ‘sweet’ things. Your ‘friends’ will tell you how good and cleverly you are doing, but would never find time to admonish a few of your policies even when their negative implications are so glaring. You would laugh and wine with them and crack jokes together, not knowing they are actually laughing at you while awaiting your downfall. To overcome this challenge, you must possess an independent mindset; be open to all but always endeavour to think deeply over their words before accepting, or making use of, them.

In her words, Sheryl Sanberg enthused, “Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence.” It’s simply about leaving indelible footprints behind, which would speak for your personality even many years after your exit.

The bitter truth is that, a leadership position isn’t for everybody; not everyone is meant to occupy it, irrespective of paper qualifications. Though anyone can learn to be a good leader, but a true leader is unequivocally inborn. Think about it!

The Author could be reached via frednwaozor@gmail.com

Column: The Crises of University Education in Nigeria: The Genesis

The tertiary education system in Nigeria is riddled with so tremendous problems, starting from under-funding, to strikes, infrastructural decay, and corruption for which Nigeria is king from a general global perception. All these problems cumulate in the alarming fall in generally accepted international standards. Everyone is worried especially as the world community is now very skeptical about the standard of knowledge and degrees emanating from our educational system. And this has been compounded by incessant strikes and insincerity on the part of the nation’s leadership. Whereas the United Nations recommend that 26% of national budgets be allocated to education, Nigeria has hardly ever funded the education Ministry by even 10% of her annual budgets.

However, my contention in this paper is that the fall in the standard of tertiary education does not start from the tertiary level itself; it starts from the primary and secondary school levels. No solid teaching or learning ever takes place in our public primary and secondary schools any more. Many teachers go to school once or twice a week in most of them and are not well motivated to teach correctly. No child ever fails a class any more. Whether you pass or fail, you move to the next level, unlike in the past when pupils were made to continue repeating their levels until they were found worthy to move on to the next. Again, there is also this fact that after the secondary school certificate examination in Nigeria, the next idea that comes to the mind of every child is the JAMB. For every parent and child, it appears so automatic, no other option; whereas in many other countries not every child who leaves the secondary school applies to go to the university.

The questions we should ask ourselves are: who are the eventual candidates for our universities? How do they gain admission? With what knowledge and certificates do they gain admission and are they qualified at entry? Are they not products of our secondary schools where no effective teaching takes place and which are poorly managed? We should stop blaming the fall in standards on the university alone. The fall in standard already started in the primary/secondary school.

In well organized systems, the counseling process is so effective that the pupil is long made to know his actual vocation before the end of his final year at school. It is not everyone that has the calling for university education. Our 6-3-3-4 system of education adopted in the 1980s is simply cosmetic and our Guidance Counselors are lacking in their roles in this direction. It is under these conditions that a candidate enters the Nigerian University and the golden rule of garbage in garbage out automatically applies. It would be foolhardy to expect miracles. What would one expect from a weak base in any enterprise, as opposed to a solid base which ensures a sound academic pursuit?

Tertiary institutions grow at a more astronomical rate in Nigeria than in any other country in the world, but I want to limit my discourse to the university system. In the past one decade, the number of universities in Nigeria has doubled from some sixty universities to well over 120. The only rational behind these increases is mere political considerations of quota and not necessarily of real contextual situations. No cognizance is taken of whether there is qualified manpower to pilot the affairs of those institutions. That is not important for as long as a “son of the soil” will be the Vice-chancellor and education brought home to the State with every Tom, Dick and Harry given admission on Local Government quota basis, as if one from State A cannot study in other states B, M, X, Z, Y as the case may be. It has reached the extent whereby teachers are all sourced from within the State. It is no longer question of University but now of Stateversity. No more cross-ventilation of ideas but that of recycling prevailing knowledge within a locality. This reminds me of the pressure mounted on Imo State citizens to go home by a sister state when a university was founded at Owerri for Imo State.

In my last university overseas, expatriate staff was from 32 countries and foreign students from 112 countries totaling a population of 2914 students. It is not same as when the students of a university come from only one country and perhaps from the few local government areas that make up a particular state! There can hardly be any cross-fertilization of ideas.

I have also heard it argued in a Federal Government University that a particular student should go and look for admission in his catchment area, notwithstanding that his score would give him admission. Instead, candidates with as low as mark as 180/400 were admitted leaving the person with 280/400 not admitted just because he/she came from another state. For as long as merit is thrown to the winds in such exercises, we would only be chasing shadows in getting good candidates for the ivory tower. But we want our children admitted in Universities in South Africa, Britain, the USA where they are not citizens but refuse admission to fellow Nigerians for reasons of discrimination! If other countries of the world were to do that, people like us would not have studied overseas because we were non citizens. And experience has shown that you acquire more knowledge the more you interact with people of diverse cultures. Even this same discrimination is being applied as in the course of the just ended strike by ASUU where the Minister of education would be pleading the cause of only Federal Universities as if all the other universities should be allowed to produce any quality of graduates they like, no longer question of universal standards. For him, State or even private universities are not the concern of the federal government for which it superintends the education Ministry. Nonetheless, his portfolio is not the Minister of Federal Institutions but the Minister of Education for the entire nation!

Also, in Nigeria, having university education has become a status symbol and most parents do not have any qualms about buying their children’s admission into the university. The consequence is that the number of people who vie for university education is over bloated, far more than the facilities available would sustain. For some candidates, it has become a do or die affair as they have sat for this same examination for upwards of three to four times, after which they want to gain admission by all means (foul and crook). They now look for touts who readily accept bribes and perhaps eventually get them placed for courses they did not bargain for. They cannot eventually cope well and surely become “sorting experts”. And so “sorting” retains a status and kills the system.

The establishment of a university should be matched with real needs. When there is a Faculty of Medicine in Abia State, it becomes just unnecessary to have same faculty in the four sister states around it. A few specialized universities in particular zones could be established for serve the needs of the entire nation instead of the proliferation of non-viable institutions that cannot pass accreditation. Universities of Science and Technology ought not to be proliferated as just a few of them need to be established in the entire country. Thus, numerous students, no matter their places of origin would go there to acquire the best of knowledge aided by the best library books in those specialized areas. Concentration of technical manpower would better be guaranteed, instead of scattering these institutions in areas where adequate manpower can hardly be guaranteed. Standards fall because we continue founding institutions without any guarantee of any one of them being standard in content.

Also, the fact of founding universities as a means of job creation has lowered the quality of staff needs as many university teachers are not qualified to teach in the ivory tower since teaching in the university is not the same as teaching in the secondary school. One gets qualified for it by getting specialized in specific areas of research. In many countries of the world, the ability to be a university teacher is determined by rigorous interviews where many candidates are subjected to talk on their specific areas before a panel. It is not question of letters of introduction from a Senator, or the Minister or Commissioner meant to influence the recruitment. Whoever is best qualified, be he a foreigner or indigene is recruited to teach.

Miracles should not be expected from the university. The golden adage of “garbage in, garbage out” normally applies. No one should expect wonders from bad candidates pushed into the university system. One would say in conclusion that greater care and attention should be given to basic elementary school training as a panacea to good products being “garbaged “into the university system. I would even recommend that the high school system be re-established so that the High School certificate or the Advanced level GCE or equivalent certificates be made the pre-requisite for university admission as in many parts of the world. And we should pay greater attention to primary / secondary education levels to be able to produce good candidates for the university system because, unless we admit good university materials, we may not possibly produce good university graduates.

Okeke, is a professor of French & Applied Linguistics.

Column I Dissecting The "I'm Right" Syndrome

Early this year, I ran into a childhood pal called Samuel somewhere in Lagos State. In the process of our conversation, I learnt he got estranged with his spouse a few weeks back. With the burning quest to ascertain what actually truncated a happy five-year-old marriage, I requested that he had a drink with me at a nearby bar.

        

Summarily, the truth of the matter was that he battered the woman in question mercilessly, thus she decided to leave their matrimonial home based on her parents’ persuasions. It seemed that wasn’t the first time he would display such an attitude, but was reportedly the worst of all so far.

         

As I sipped my stout beer from the glass cup, just as he did with his lager, I enquired what really prompted the ruthless action. Samuel claimed she gave him the insult of his life, stating she called him names.

         

Having gotten infuriated with the whole story, I therein unequivocally blamed him entirely, telling him that that was not an enough excuse. I further notified him that insult of any kind shouldn’t warrant any iota of assault in a marriage, or any form of relationship. I observed he wasn’t pleased with my judgements but I didn’t bloody care.

         

To shorten the long story, I went further to inquire if he had showed remorse over the uncalled reaction. I learned till that moment, being about three weeks after the incident, the dude was yet to think of visiting his wife’s parental home let alone tendering an apology. To worsen it, he eventually told me he didn’t see anything wrong with what he did.

         

From the blunt response, I understood Samuel was trying to hide under a certain norm that holds the thought that ‘a man is always right’. It’s not anymore news that in some African traditional settings, you cannot tell a man to his face that he is wrong when trying to mediate between him and his spouse. And, such an existing belief has ostensibly succeeded in beclouding the sense of reasoning of most men, particularly the young ones.

         

The fact is; the ‘I’m right’ syndrome has continued to endanger various healthy relationships. The paradox is that most of these staggering, or pale-looking, relationships were rightly built on a golden pedestal. But the inability to show remorse by any of the party involved, having erred, continually poses threat to the anticipated growth of the union.

         

Allowing your extremism mentality to control your actions would definitely make any relationship you are into crash on arrival. You aren’t supposed to strongly believe in everything. Don’t live a life of a fanatic. Sometimes, compromise is highly consequential, especially when it calls for way forward.

          

Relationship is about compromise or sacrifice. Hence, you must be willing at all times to give up on a certain ideology just for peace to reign. If your ego is the problem, you must sacrifice it to enable other things you yearn for to flow. It’s noteworthy that ego had abruptly ended countless enticing unions than death did. You must be willing to give up that venom in you that is unabated posing threat to your cherished relationship. One thing must give way for the other.

         

It’s always crucial to acknowledge that everybody can never be right at the same time. Someone must be wrong. And when you are right or wrong, your conscience will certainly communicate to you concerning where you belong. It suffices to assert that you are invariably expected to listen to the aforementioned feature, because it is the only tool that can lead you to the apt path.   

         

Even, sometimes when you are right, you can assume that you are wrong just for the sake of way forward. It’s simply like a battle field where someone must accept defeat. This is where maturity comes in. Honestly, it takes a mature mindset to keep a relationship going or alive. Maturity is like lubrication oil in any ongoing union.

        

Similarly, immaturity in a relationship is not unlike a bad tyre in a moving vehicle. The latter can never move properly until you change the former. And if the driver tries to manage the situation, it would surely draw the journey backwards; hence, he will never arrive at his proposed destination. Aside not getting to the destination, it might even cause an accident in the process.

        

So, maturity is one of the key recipes in any relationship in existence, be it business, friendship, courtship, marriage, or what have you. It would make us to possess a flexible mindset rather than a rigid one, thereby keeping us away from the dangers of fanaticism. The said pattern of ideology possesses venom that bears the potential of destroying, within a twinkle of an eye, what a man has suffered in building for years.

         

For crying out loud; you can’t continue to say ‘I am right’ even when aware that you are wrong. Don’t cheat on your conscience if you truly want your relationship to excel. ‘I’m sorry’ doesn’t really mean you are wrong; it rather means you truly cherish the relationship more than your ego. Think about it!