Nigerian economy can only grow through the genuine efforts of Nigerians. Managers of the economy are well aware that consumption, investment, government spending and exports drive any economy. As it is the four drivers of the economy are looking downwards. They may not look up any time soon if appropriate policy measures are not applied. The economy as admitted by both the Minister of Finance and the Central Bank Governor is sinking and there is no recovery plan that is adequate to tackle the down turn. Nigeria needs massive investment, the purchasing power of the consumers need to be enhanced, government need to spend wisely on infrastructure and the private sector have to produce for both local and international markets.
As of today the purchasing power of the citizenry is very low. Disposable income in the hands of Nigerians is paltry coupled with several months of unpaid salaries in both public and private sectors. It is the ability of the citizenry to buy goods and services that gives signals to producers to produce more. It is the stimulation of production process that generates employment, leads to industries expanding their facilities to cope with rising demand. This economy can only grow through the genuine efforts of Nigerians. Foreign investors can only be additional benefit not the core of growth and development of the Nigerian economy.
The fundamental issues in the economy are not being addressed frontally. The primary problem in Nigeria economy is its weak production base. Nigerians must realise that the economy as well as the currency can only get better if every Nigerian makes up his mind to be productive and be discipline. It is shameful that Nigeria imports virtually everything under the sun. This simply is unsustainable. There is a general need for a reorientation of the minds of Nigerians, an orientation borne out of the fact that there is dignity in labour. Nigeria can come out of the current recession in a very short time by looking inward and producing locally most of the items it is importing now if all hands are on deck.
Nigeria imports at least 70 percent of its refined fuel, despite pumping 1.6 million barrels of crude a day in June according to the International Energy Agency, and faced fuel shortages as retailers struggled to get foreign currency to buy product. This lack of a strong production base has resulted in imported inflation.
Nigeria is at the moment suffering from lack of economic growth and at the same time high level inflation. The economy is in what is known as stagflation. What the government should do now is to borrow from the capital market on long term basis to finance capital projects and pay contractors to enable them recall laid off worker. It should encourage both states and local governments to approach the capital market to raise funds to embark on capital projects. By so doing, the government at various levels will have the ability to pay workers salaries from their internally generated revenue and allocation from the federation account. The government should also give tax rebate to individuals as well as corporate organisation to boost consumer spending. This we believe will push the economy out of recession.
