By Andrew S. Nevin, PhD
Given a massive underperformance of the Nigerian economic structure, only a bold program that is candid about what needs to be done – and is prepared to do it – can be successful.
And this is where the Manifesto of Dr Kingsley and ultimately the economic program of the YPP is superior. He begins his economic analysis (p67 if you want to read it in full ) with a detailed look at the range of capitalist models to argue precisely what will work in Nigeria (Entrepreneurial Capitalism is his conclusion). He also rightly – and candidly – diagnoses that our current system of crony capitalism cannot work for us, so needs to be changed.
Dr Kingsley has the most incisive analysis of our unsustainable fiscal regime and is willing to face up to our looming debt crisis (we currently use 60 kobo out of every Naira of tax revenue to pay interest on our debt).
He also rightly recognizes that we need rural Nigeria to prosper if we are going to succeed. Fifty Three percent (53%) of Nigerians live in rural areas and it is not sufficient for just Lagos State to do well … or even Lagos, Kano, Port Harcourt, and Kaduna … we need all of Nigeria to do well.
Finally, Dr Kingsley faces up squarely to the Federal/State Restructuring issue – he is courageous enough to say, not only do we need Restructuring, but that at least 30 of 36 States are economically unviable, so only a Restructuring that reduces the economic units (back to 6 in Dr Kingsley’s case) can work for us.
Here are 5 critical policies from the YPP Manifesto that will have a particularly positive impact on reversing our decline:
- Partial privatization of the NNPC, with a listing on the NSE; this will dramatically improve governance and transparency at the NNPC, as well as allowing ordinary Nigerians to own part of the oil wealth. At the same time, it gives a chance to give some of the shares to communities where the oil is actually produced.
- Abolition of the Land Use Act; Dr Kingsley rightly posits that without well-regulated property rights in land, we will never be able to grow our economy.
- Elimination of the Fuel Subsidy; to be fair both the APC and the ACPN have this in their Manifestos, though the APC has backtracked from this publically. Subsidizing people like to drive in Nigeria cannot be the right policy.
- Engagement of the Diaspora; what is keeping Nigeria afloat today is not oil, it is the Diaspora remittances. The YPP has a clear program to engage what is our most critical export at the moment; and finally
- Real Restructuring; 30 out of 36 States are not economically viable, and any Manifesto that does not face up to the hard reality will mean we continue getting poorer and poorer. I fundamentally believe Nigerians – who are obviously immensely talented as evidenced by the great success outside of Nigeria – are perfectly capable of solving difficult issues (like health, education, and power) at the local and State level. So let them do it …
So of the Manifestos of the APC, PDP, ACPN, and YPP, only the YPP’s Manifesto has the coherence and boldness to reverse our current economic path.
Source: proshareng.com
