NIGERIA, A NATION ON THE BRINK written by Japheth J Omojuwa

Let us take a dash to our usual peril, Corruption. The fight against corruption if it ever was has since lost its bite and it shows even in the Corruption Perception Index of Transparency International. Forget the fact that we have since left the foot of the rankings but like a student who did not finish bottom of the class but came home with a result average of 15 percent, here we have failed woefully and are actually running down to our previous disgraceful positions. The ranking is based on data from country experts and business leaders at 10 independent institutions, including the World Bank, Economist Intelligence Unit and World Economic Forum. Nigeria while placing 134 of 178 ranked countries also had poor numbers and when placed beside our index from 2008 and 2009, we are actually losing it all over again. Our CPI for 2008 was 2.7, 2009 was 2.5 and 2010 had us at 2.4 – The lower the number, the worse the perception of corruption. Somalia the most corrupt country according to the report has a CPI of 1.1. We all know what is happening in Somalia so that is understandable. Against a score of 10.0, we are a very corrupt nation still! And the numbers are in agreement with the current realities. Honourable Dimeji Bankole’s trial has since left the public fore and soon will be forgotten as it is the usual. We have world class thieving moguls dressed as ex this and ex that still walking and sleeping as free men despite making away with hundreds of billions of naira in tax payers’ money. Forget convictions, no Governor from the immediate class of 2011 is facing prosecution. In fact, the conviction rate for that class is zero for this government. We are going back to where we were, ominously the foot of that ladder has us unconsciously singing “Coming Home” if this continues.

While the above look like we are doomed, some other ranking says doomed is a play word. We are seen as an economically MOSTLY UNFREE nation. At 111 with a Freedom score of 56.7 dropping points from 2010’s numbers, we are in the same region with the likes of Mali, Benin and Tonga. The countries at the top also boast of the best living standards and wealth. Hong Kong at 89.7 and Singapore at 87.2 are the Freest nations in the world and are as expected amongst the world’s richest. The ranking and numbers of the United States have been dropping and going down with that is the living standard of the average American. This ranking basically shows investors where they are most likely to have a free rein in terms of economic decisions without the bullying tendencies of governments and their shackling policies. So when next you see your country paying millions of dollars for CNN adverts to woo investors, tell them to instead focus on improving the freedom of the markets. No one will invest in a country where the President fixes the prices of goods and services based on whether his wife uses Mary Kay beauty products or House of Tara’s Orekelewa. This morning you hear of a ban on the importation of textile materials and the next you know, your consignments are stuck at sea already paid for. This is just an example. Let the economy live on the people’s choices and willingness to trade based on their preferences not the President’s choices.

These numbers may look like mere figures to you, but they are in fact the difference between a national disaster and national prosperity. They have been summed up in the form of some other figures released just a few hours ago. Analysts from Financial Derivatives Company (FDC) Limited say the nation’s gini co-efficient, a measure of inequality in income and consumption, is higher than the average for Africa and the Middle East as a whole, at 0.44 or 43.7 percent.
The bleak picture shows that one person, for instance, consumes an average of 8.5 litres of milk per year, in Nigeria , compared to an average of 48.8 litres per person in Africa and Middle East .
Bismarck Rewane, economist and chief executive officer of Financial Derivatives Company (FDC) Limited, in his recent economic report said one person in Nigeria is only privileged to consume an average of 9.6 kilogrammes of meat, compared with an average of 24.9 kilogram per person in Africa and Middle East .

Go through your history books, everywhere and at every stage in the history of human development, these mind boggling disparities always end with strife and wars. I am not saying these are inevitabilities, but I am certain something will give if things don’t improve.

Is it time to be afraid for Nigeria? No! It is time to right the numbers and set the nation on the order of economic development. Frittering all our earnings (about 75 per cent) on recurrent expenditure amounts to using our money to dig a death hole for ourselves. Nothing is too late as long as boiling point has not been reached. We are close to that point and if we get there, it will be the world’s worst human disaster to hit the African continent. The men in government know these numbers and they know even more, they are themselves afraid of what might be. Until we realize that it is impossible for one man to manage the destinies of 160 million people and do such successfully, doom day will only be a matter of time. Shed the burden of the Federal Government and let it deal with the things that matter to national security and foreign policy. This is an emergency and if it is not treated as such, the governed and the governors will go down together.