Political and constitutional objectives

7. Fiscal and Monetary Commission
   THE monetary authorities in Nigeria are the Federal Government and the Central Bank. The latter has certain powers of supervision and directive over the banking institutions, which it exercises from time to time in close consultation with the Federal Government. The aims of these authorities are to ensure stability in the value of our currency, and to avoid an adverse balance of payments.

 

But the policy of the monetary authorities in the people’s republic of Nigeria must include the control of banking and other financial institutions, and the development of the country’s financial resources for the attainment and maintenance of full employment. This is not at present the case. But it would be overburdening the Central Bank in the efficient discharge of its new assignment of control and executive direction of all the banking and financial institutions in the country, if it were to be asked, in addition, to advise the appropriate bodies on the problems of full employment. It is necessary, therefore, that a new body should be superimposed on the present monetary authorities.

Furthermore, there is at present no arrangement for the permanent harmonization and co-ordination of the fiscal measures of the various governments in the Federation. Under the new dispensation which, I believe, has been vividly delineated in this book, the country cannot afford a situation in which every Government does what it likes, concerning (1) the rate of taxation, (2) the source, size, nature, and purpose of public borrowing, and (3) the amounts and pattern of its capital expenditure. Only chaos and total frustration of our stated objectives could result from such a situation.

From what has been said, therefore, it is clear that a Fiscal and Monetary Commission is a necessity. It would be the duty of this Commission at all times, as was stated on page II, to devise ways and means of supplementing, wherever necessary, the revenues which the Governments of the Federation may raise from taxation and from the earnings of enterprises owned by them, if such revenues are inadequate for the attainment of our objectives, and to advise the Governments accordingly. It would also be its duty, from time to time, to advise (I) the Federal Government and the Central Bank on monetary problems, and (2) all the Governments of the Federation on the question of harmonization and co-ordination of fiscal measures throughout the country.

The Fiscal and Monetary Commission would be independent of the National Planning Commission. This is essential in order that the former may be in a position to give detached and impartial advice to the latter, as and when necessary. But it is imperative for the two Commissions to Work in close collaboration, if the crucial problem of attaining a fairly permanent degree of equilibrium between the supply of goods and the supply of money is to be effectively and satisfactorily solved.

 

8,9, and 10. Allocation of Revenue, Nigerianization, and Organisation and Method Units

These are matters which speak for themselves, and, therefore, call for no comments.

 

11. National Education Commission

Under Section 12 (11) on page 73, it was advocated that ‘Determination and co-ordination of standards in all schools and educational institutions.’ should be an Exclusive Federal Function. This is absolutely necessary in order to avoid an ugly and depressing situation which Would be bound to arise, if one or more States were to prescribe educational standards which might differ widely from and be lower than those obtaining in other parts of the country. In this connection, I feel Sure that what all of us strongly desire to see in the people’s republic of Nigeria is a healthy state of affairs in which the scholastic certificate, issued to a boy or girl in one State, is acceptable and recognized in any other State, on its face value. Hence the need for this Commission.

 

12. Institute of National Guidance

It will be generally agreed that the objectives which we have set out in this book are attainable. But it must be emphasized that they will be attained only if Nigerian political leaders possess and hold, respectively, certain attributes and attitudes of mind; and guide and lead the entire masses of their people to cultivate, or at least to strive perseveringly to cultivate them. I will now itemize these attributes and attitudes of mind, and discuss them briefly.

(1) Socialist orientation: In his efforts to live a full and happy life, man has adopted two well-known economic systems, with separate and distinct polarities. They are the capitalist system, and the socialist system. There are a number of other systems which, pure’ and simple, are admixtures or aberrations of these two systems.

It would appear that the ordinary man in the street in Nigeria welcomes socialism, only for so long as he remains an underdog. But as soon as fortune smiles on him, he thinks and behaves differently-more like a capitalist than a socialist. Which shows that his adherence to socialism is only superficial and negative. Simply because his circumstances in life are poor, he displays open resentment and hostility to the more affluent and greedier members of society, and, therefore, embraces what socialism offers, namely – social justice, more out of emotional reaction and impulse, than out of understanding and conviction. As for the well-to-do elements in our society, they, out of crass ignorance and misguided self-interest, regard socialism as a bane and an evil, which must not be allowed to grow and flourish. It follows, therefore, that there is an urgent need to educate and guide our people, in their entirety, to acquire permanent and enlightened socialist orientation, and the well-to-do classes, in particular, to smother their antagonism towards, and at least welcome and put up with, socialist practices. For such education and guidance to succeed, and have the desired effect, there is need for truly expert handling.

In my considered judgment, the contents of socialist” orientation can be epitomised as follows:-

(a) Patriotism, which is typified by selfless service to the

fatherland for its own sake;

(b) Altruism, or another-regarding attitude of mind which, in the words of the Communist Manifesto, recognizes ‘the free development of each as the condition for the free development of all’ as opposed to and distinct from naked self-interest which is the motive force of capitalism; and

(c) Love; that is loving one’s neighbour as one loves oneself.

From these three virtues flow many other attributes like devotion, dedication, selflessness, self-sacrifice, sense of civic responsibility, etc. It will be seen, therefore that our people will become socialist- orientated if we are able to inculcate in them, powerfully and deeply, the attributes of patriotism, altruism, and love. The inculcation must be massive, persistent, and skilful. The overriding objective should be to keep all our people, permanently and unwaveringly on the socialist path: to ensure that after their emancipation from the shackles of ignorance, disease, and abject poverty, the masses do not develop capitalist tendencies; and that the affluent few, once we have succeeded in weaning them from their unhealthy adherence to the capitalist way of life, do not suffer a relapse.

(2) Discipline: In my view, socialist orientation is a sine qua non to social regeneration and justice. But it is not by itself enough.

Two of the attributes which sharply and boldly distinguish socialism from capitalism are – planning and discipline. Without planning and discipline, socialism has no chance of success. The attainment of the objectives which I have been discussing and, in particular, the harmonization and coordination of all economic activities relating to consumption, production, exchange, and distribution, call for the most expert and detailed perspective, and operative or short-term planning. But the success of both the perspective and operative plans demands from Nigerians discipline of body and mind of the highest order. To this end, the masses must be educated to cultivate and practise a great measure of self-denial, and obedience to constituted authority. They must be guided to change, radically, such of their old habits, cultures, and traditions as are inimical or antithetic to socialism, and hence to social justice, social harmony, and rapid all round social rebirth and growth.

For their part, the leaders must themselves be dedicated socialists, and must possess a large and convincing measure of mental magnitude as we have defined and described it in Thoughts of Nigerian Constitution and The People’s Republic.

(3) Hard work: The man who will not work shall not eat.’ So says Paul the Apostle of Christ; and so say all of us. Idleness of any kind should not be tolerated in the people’s republic of Nigeria; lest the loafers, by their dangerous and contagious example, should debase their neighbours, and thereby generate a chain-reaction of under-utilization of manpower and natural resources.

In this connection, it must be emphasized that the standard of living, which we advocate for the new Nigeria of our hope, demands from all of us more than the ordinary and leisurely type of labour to which we are used. It demands hard work. Nothing short of this will bring us the full and happy life for which we ardently and legitimately yearn. This should not be taken to mean that we are advocating overwork, and the abolition of leisure. We are doing nothing of the sort. Indeed, we want plenty of healthful and creative leisure for all our people. But it does mean that if we are to enjoy a much higher standard of living than we now do, we must correspondingly increase our individual productivity. This is to say, in concrete terms, that in the people’s republic of Nigeria we must be prepared to

(1)          work longer hours than we now do;

(2)          reduce waste, and practise strict economy in the utilization of resources;

(3)          increase our .efficiency, through the various factors and techniques known to the modern science of production;-such as general and technical education, physical fitness, better technique and management, congenial conditions of work, up-to-date scientific division of labour, and the use of up-to-date sophisticated capital equipment; and

(4)          do all in our power to promote and maintain political stability.

These are the hard and delightful roads to the happy and glorious goals for which we yearn. They are the roads of painstaking diligence and hardwork, and of economic and political discipline. There are no other roads that I can think of.

(4) Self-confidence: ‘You are what you think you are.’ If a man persistently entertains and cherishes thoughts of success and prosperity, he will succeed and prosper; if of failure and poverty, he will surely fail and be poor. This is a sound principle, which is as old as the history of human thought, and which is endorsed by the wisest and the most illustrious of our species-from Jesus Christ and Mohammed, down to Lord Attlee and Viscount Montgomery of Alemaine. Here, what the latter two have said:

 

Lord Attlee:        ‘Since wars begin in the minds of men it is in the minds of men that we must seek to prevent them.’

 

This saying has since been adopted, as its motto, by the UNESCO.

Viscount Montgomery: ‘Battles are fought and won in the minds of men.’ In other words, if men think war, they will have war; if peace, peace; and if victory, victory. The only worthwhile action of the mind is thinking -’ clear, calm, decisive, deliberate, and sustained’; and since every human action or enterprise begins in the mind, it is there that the quality of the action or enterprise must be determined.