Just on Wednesday the 28th of September, 2016, the World Economic Forum released its Global Competitiveness Report and whereas a number of African nations like Kenya (of whom we are very quick to compare ourselves positively) improved in the Global Competitiveness Index rankings, Nigeria slipped three places and is now ranked 127 out of 138 nations.
To put it murky, only 11 nations (many of them war torn) are worse than Nigeria in terms of doing business!
Two years ago Nigeria was Africa’s fastest growing economy. Today, she does not even feature in Africa’s top ten most competitive nations! But when you point these out, the response is to blame Goodluck Jonathan under whom our economy blossomed like never before.
When you waste 16 months playing the blame game should you be surprised that investors are playing the disappearing game and running away from your economy?
And what has been the result? A recession. Now, the thing is that rather than face the recession frontally and ideate on how to end it, their administration, characteristically, has only one response: Blame Jonathan! As my Warri peeps would say-una no dey tire!
Today, the Naira has exactly half the value it had when former President Jonathan handed over power to President Buhari yet we have not gotten to half of this administration’s first tenure!
If there is anything you should not be doing during a recession it is complaining. Recessions bow to solutions not complaints!
But I do apologize. It is not exactly true that thus administration has not come up with a solution. It has. Sell of our national assets!
If I say that I was astounded by the news that the Muhammadu Buhari administration is toying with the idea of selling off Nigeria’s national assets, I could probably qualify for a place in the Guinness Book of Records for understatement of the year!
Nigeria is going through her toughest recession ever and the government’s response is the intellectually lazy one of selling our national assets! Somebody pinch me because I may as well be in a dream. I take that back. A nightmare this is!
First of all those in government need to understand that it is a most foolish thing to sell your assets in a recession because you will not get value for it. It is like selling your house while the real estate market is down. The only type of buyers you are going to attract are exploiters and shysters!
Of course a man like Aliko Dangote would advise government to sell its assets. Mr. Dangote did not become the richest African by being nice! I have met him in the flesh. He became the richest Black man in the world by being shrewd! And ever since the Buhari economy reduced his wealth by about $3.5 billion and removed him from Forbes Top 100 richest people in the world, the business mogul has not been happy about it and he has been angling to get back into that privileged company.
I may be wrong, but I suspect that Mr. Dangote, like a shark, has smelled blood. He has probably seen the cluelessness of the Buhari administration in the midst of this unprecedented crisis as a means to regain his lost fortunes.
Do not be deceived. Wealthy people like money and they like it more than you and I. Mr. Dangote, go back and check my history. I was the first man to acknowledge you as the richest Black man in the world in my 2010 documentary, Facts V Fiction. Before you conclude that I am your enemy go and watch that video. Google it. YouTube it. I am your admirer! But in as much as I admire you, I admire Nigeria more!
Back to the issues. The Buhari administration is best advised to read Napoleon Hill’s book, Think and Grow Rich. You do not sell and grow rich. You think your way out of a recession.
Selling our national assets because of this present recession is like selling your house because of car troubles. Where will you sleep after fixing the car?
Okay, if selling off our national assets does not stop the recession, what will be the next step? Sell us the citizens? Where do
