Lawan’s economic doctrine

LAST week, Senate President Ahmad Lawan whetted the Muhammadu Buhari administration‘s large appetite for loans, declaring that Nigeria as a poor country had no option but to borrow to fund infrastructure. Fielding questions from correspondents after a meeting at the Presidential Villa, Lawan claimed that the legislature would not be frivolous in granting the executive’s requests for loans, as such requests would be subjected to thorough scrutiny. He said: “Our options are really very limited as a country. First, we don’t have the necessary revenues. Nigeria is poor, we shouldn’t deceive ourselves. Nigeria is not rich, given the circumstances we live in, given the challenges we have; our resources are so low, our revenues are so low and, therefore, the option of not doing anything is not even worthy of consideration. You cannot keep the economy stagnant.

“Two, you cannot, in my view and judgment, tax Nigerians further for you to raise the money for infrastructure development. Other countries do that, but we have a serious situation across the country, so you cannot tax people. The other option is public-private partnership. You need to create the environment to attract investors to come into our country. Because of the security challenges we face today, not many investors would like to come to Nigeria. In fact, even those inside Nigeria may not like to invest properly in this sector of infrastructure development. So, the only option left is for us to borrow, borrow responsibly, utilise it prudently and economically, and ensure that the projects are self-sustaining and they can pay back the loans. The Nigerian economy will benefit from the implementation of such infrastructure development. So, that is the only option we have and I believe that Nigerians will understand.”

It is indeed a pity that at all levels of governance, Nigeria, Africa’s largest population, has been consistently beset by an intellectually impoverished and criminally inept leadership. If, as Senate President Lawan says, Nigeria is poor, then the next logical question to ask is why that is the case. As it turns out, Dr. Lawan is uninterested in this question, and that is scandalous, to put it mildly. The question is, with the natural and human resources bestowed on the country by God, should Nigeria be poor? And is Nigeria’s poverty a fait accompli? We do not think so. Nigeria is poor precisely because even though it is abundantly blessed, it has been criminally managed over the years. Of course, by saying that the country is poor and that borrowing is the only viable option for its survival, the Senate President was only dancing to the tune of the executive. Widely perceived as leading a rubber-stamp legislature, Lawan has hardly ever made any pronouncement suggesting that he wants the 9th Senate to have a mind of its own and not to operate based on the whims and caprices of the executive, as if by compulsion. Time and again, he has made statements that suggest that the legislature is an extension of the Presidency, one of such being the ludicrous claim that whatever President Buhari brought before the National Assembly could be considered to be in the national interest.

Rather than playing to the gallery, what the Senate President should have done was to challenge the executive, specifically the economy’s managers, to grow the economy. That has sadly not been done. Instead, Lawan has unknowingly adjudged the country’s economic managers as failures, since astute economic managers would seek to look inwards and not rely exclusively on external loans to fund infrastructure. For instance, the Buhari government has for long been talking about diversifying the economy, but where are the gains of the said diversification? Is the rail system about which members of the executive consistently wax lyrical the kind that can fast-track development? Is it accessible, affordable and, above all, up to par with what obtains around the world? Has the country maximised its  vast opportunities in areas like agriculture and solid minerals?

Truth be told, a major bane of Nigeria over the years is that it has been plagued by leaders who are not challenging their thinking. Good leaders don’t surrender to problems: they solve them. By saying that Nigeria is poor and can only borrow, Lawan has inadvertently foisted a climate of laziness and defective thinking on governance in the country. The borrower, says the good Book, is servant to the lender.  Pray, if the advanced countries did not grow their economy, would Nigeria go to them to borrow all the time? Which country lent China money to reach its present enviable status? Where are the United Arab Emirates’ prosperity lenders? It is certainly incredible that in justifying Buhari’s borrowing spree, Lawan said the legislature aimed to avoid a situation whereby Nigerians would be taxed. It is surprising that he does not reckon with the fact that in repaying loans, Nigerians would eventually be taxed, and much more viciously so than they would have been if the government did not take the loans that are gradually confining the country’s future to the sewer. In any case, Nigerians are currently overtaxed on all fronts, with even the interest rate lowered on savings accounts.

Our objection to Buhari’s borrowing spree stands. Those who go a-borrowing, go a-sorrowing. No country borrows its way into prosperity, and lenders are not lovers but economic hegemons. Surely, this is elementary truth.

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