By Abbati Bako
*The challenge before President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on World Bank/IMF’s 10 prescriptions, capitalist market economy and global economic squeeze especially in Africa-
The analysis of the situation:-
The challenge before President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on economic squeeze in Nigeria is too huge and visibly critical (fastidious or difficult to please) and need urgent solutions. Nigerians are in dare need to be out of economic squeeze and have freedom of want and economic development.
With freedom of want democracy will be cherished in the minds of Nigerians. Otherwise, democratic system will be out of their minds due to economic crunch and hardship of life. Sincerely, Nigerians seemed to be accumulating anger on daily basis due to economic crunch and blaming democratic system for not solving their political and economic development. The current fuel subsidy removal in Nigeria will affect every home and will trigger unstoppable stagflation. The issue of currency exchange has to be blamed for the fact that Nigeria is a consumer nation. And if care is not taken stagflation and insecurity can trigger truncation of NIGERIA’s hard earned democracy for the past 24 years.
Democracy in Nigeria-
Remember that 57% voted in 1999 but in 2019 only about 23% voted and in 2023 less than that percentage came out to vote. This means that; former President Muhammad Buhari scored more than 15M votes compared to 8M+ votes for the current President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. What does the 24 years of Democracy in Nigeria indicates?
The United Nations (UN) asserts that there are about 133M Nigerians that are extremely poor. With this, can democracy stand in Nigeria and other African Nations? Can democracy solve the political, economic and social security of Nigeria and other African Nations or even South-South world? What has been the rational behind the creation of BRICKS Nations?
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has only 48 months to bring urgent solutions to Nigeria’s economic aridity. Hence, the time seems to be too short considering the huge of debts both at home and abroad. The debts which has been to the tune of Billions of Dollars. Can that be easy to pay within short period of time?
And again, what of stagflation (inflation, unemployment, low productions of industries and security challenges) which is the root causes of insecurity in Nigeria and how can that be solved within shortest possible time?
Professor Williamson is an expert and Consultant in global economy based in Washington DC and he’s an advocate of “Washington Consensus” that favored and designed strategies for economic emerging nations of the South South World (including the Eastern European Nations) on how to handle and solve the economies of emerging nations.
Some of the conditions are; removal of subsidies on fuels, free market, privatization of all government properties and tax reforms, others are possession of intellectual properties and giving attention on healthcare, free primary and secondary education and so on.
The issue of WB/IMF’s 10 prescriptions has been the issue of debate amongst business men/women, academics and global political and economic stakeholders. Former UK’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that “Washington Consensus is dead”. But other global political decision makers like former President of USA Barack Obama suggested that the system is still working in the world. And to the WB/IMF still the system is implementable amongst the economic emerging nations of the world.
Some countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Kenya, UAE, Pakistan, India, South Africa, Indonesia, S/Korea, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are succeeding and benefiting from the system. But the problem with this system has been very very painful to the poor people especially in Africa. Some countries that are not mindful to accept the system has been in an economic aridity for the fact that they are sidelined in global economic interplay and economic development as well as political influence.
Counties such as Cuba, N/Korea are an excellent examples. This kind of political, economic and social bandwagon has been described as “American centric or called American age”.
Fundamentally, this writing understands that “Globalization Policy” has been the leading light for the implementation of global political, economic and social (Democratization, Global Economic integration and Multiculturalism) in allover the world. This means that human person is a citizen of the world and can be anywhere around the world to settle for knowledge, business, investments and so on. Hence, capitalist market economy is for competition and economic activities based on freedom of movement, law and order and communication from every angle of the world.
*The Beijing Consensus of 2004 and the current BRICKS Nations of the world—
To be continued InshaAllah—
Abbati Bako,psc,bsis,UK Political Strategy and Communication Consultant IPRC, Nigeria
