Dr. Reuben Abati, a veteran journalist and former Senior Adviser on Media and Publicity to former President Goodluck Jonathan, has explained why Nigerians should not have expected Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to tell President Bola Tinubu anything different from what she said about Nigeria’s economy.
Abati said that Okonjo-Iweala is an International diplomat
and therefore simply echoed what IMF, World Bank and others had said about the
economy.
Abati maintained that there is no enough productivity,
saying Nigeria is still a monocultural economy, with the bulk of its revenue
coming from oil.
She spoke to State House correspondents after a courtesy
visit to the President.
However, speaking on Friday during Arise Television’s
Morning Show programme, Abati said Nigerians weren’t relying on statistics but
on reality.
He said: Dr Ngozi okonjo was in Nigeria originally to launch
this $50 million fund with regard to getting Nigerian women into the digital
space. And the main proposition is that Nigerian women need to be further
empowered. And I think that on the surface of it, that greater involvement is
march in the digital space, even for Nigerian women and other categories, is an
important proposition. I think that we should not lose sight of the major
mission to Nigeria.
“Now, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who is Director General second
time of the WTO, is an International diplomat. No one should expect that she
will go to the president of Nigeria and tell him anything otherwise as an
international diplomat.
“Yes, she will echo, and what she’s done is not even
original. She simply echoed IMF, World Bank. After her consultative session
outcome, saying that, ‘oh, President Tinubu, reform is going very well, and
that those reforms are important and all that.’
“But both the IMF and the World Bank added the same caveat
about the need for social safety nets. She said exactly the same thing. She
said, okay, the reforms are working, but now we need growth. In other words,
she’s also saying the same thing that the IMF and World Bank said that we need
to do more.
“So when Minister Edun comes on the sidelines and says, Oh,
we’re doing well. You know, the budget is doing well. We are, you know, paying
attention to all regular payments and all that. That’s government talk. The
emphasis is on growth, which Dr Okonjo-Iweala pointed out, how do we grow this
economy? And the counter argument is like, is there enough productivity in this
economy to ensure growth?
“I’ve consistently said there is no enough productivity, and
then we’re still a monocultural economy. The bulk of what we get is still from
oil.
“We need to do a lot more in terms of expanding this
economy. You know, making it grow 3.4 3.5% growth is not enough. Those who know
the subject have said, look, can we get to Nigeria to a double digit growth
level, which was where this economy was going at a certain time, removing
subsidy and having additional revenue.
“Yes, it may solve initial problems, but there are more
fundamental problems that an international diplomat will not stand in front of
President Tinubu and spell out.
“But the point is that, you know, government needs new ideas
to achieve that objective of growth that Dr Okonjo-Iweala pointed out. So it’s
not enough to say we have stabilized the economy, you have stabilized the
economy. That’s why the international diplomat was saying you have to provide
social safety nets.
“There are people we see on a daily basis who are saying,
they are groaning that there is hardship in the land, that they cannot survive
under the same reforms that are working. The last common denominator is what
the ordinary man thinks, how the ordinary man feels, how the ordinary man
survives when there is prosperity in your house.
“The point I’m making is that we just want a country where
everybody is prosperous and safe. We are not relying on statistics, we are
relying on reality, and there is that social safety net that everyone from
Okonjo-Iweala to IMF and World Bank ambassador is talking about.”
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