Dr Obadiah Mailafia, a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has advised the Federal Government to produce a comprehensive economic blueprint to fast track economic growth and development. Mailafia gave the advice while speaking as a guest lecturer at the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) 2016 Annual Lecture on Thursday in Abuja. The theme of the lecture is: “Fighting Corruption and Growing a Sustainable Nigerian Economy’’. He appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to listen to the right advice that would help fix the nation’s economy within a short time.
“Nigerians are getting impatient and they are complaining that this change is not translating into what they are hoping for.
“We must do what we have to do to rescue our economy and to get the great Nigerian people back to work,’’ Mailafai said. He also advised the government to create an entrepreneurial state by encouraging innovation and generating critical public goods that would support creativity and high level productivity. Besides, he urged government to pursue economic policies within the framework of a coherent and credible development strategy with a greater coordination between fiscal and monetary authorities.
“Sadly, we notice that Nigeria does not have an economic administration.
“The British Chancellor of the Exchequer, for example, has at his beck and call some 300 highly well-trained economists in the Treasury.
“Their job is to worry day and night about the economy, monitor key trends, analyse critical developments and proffer policy. We need to build such an administration, in addition to strengthening the National Economic Management Team that has become virtually comatose. Let us get it very clear: the current recession was neither created by Muhammadu Buhari nor by the ruling APC.
“It is the ultimate denouement of a long night of poor leadership and wrong policy choice. But the buck stops with one person. We cannot continue to blame previous administrations. We can only hope like the great Franklin Roosevelt in America of the 1930s and like Barack Obama during the height of the Great Recession. Our President needs a brains trust of people who love Nigeria passionately and are ready to do what it takes to take us to the path that destiny has ordained for us,’’ the ex-CBN deputy governor said.
He commended Buhari for his doggedness in the ongoing fight against corruption, adding that the recent arrest of some Judges was a good step in the right direction.
The economist said that tackling corruption required highest qualities of leadership, courage, boldness, vision, moral force and conviction. Mailafia, however, urged law enforcement and anti-graft agencies to ensure respect for the rule of law in prosecuting corrupt officials. Malam Nuhu Ribadu, former chairman, Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) said that the ongoing fight against corruption was germane to the survival of the Nigerian economy.
Ribadu said that the federal government should not be distracted by pressure arising from the recent arrest of some judges by DSS. He appealed to Nigerians to support Buhari to rid judiciary from corruption.
