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T H I S D AY ˞ ˜ Ͱʹ˜ Ͱ͎Ͱ͎
EDITORIAL
AN ECONOMY IN CRISIS
The crisis is another wake-up call to restructure the economy
E
ven when the numbers are open to broad interpretation, the figures released recently by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) only confirmed the deteriorating situation of things. According to the NBS, the country’s unemployment rate rose to a record 27 per cent in the second quarter of 2020, from 23 per cent in the third quarter of 2018. In effect, about 22 million Nigerians, twice the population of neighbouring Benin Republic, are unemployed. The underemployment rate is much higher, put at 28 per cent. As expected, the majority of the unemployed are young men and women in their productive age. For decades, the nation has been unable to provide sufficient jobs for its growing population. As a result, millions of Nigerians - trained and untrained, young or old - are consistently exposed to large scale economic hardship and poverty. This state of affairs is further worsened by the prevailing Covid-19 THERE IS URGENT pandemic ravaging the entire world. The NEED TO REDUCE attempts to contain THE OVERWHELMING the spread of the DEPENDENCE ON virus have impeded OIL AND GIVE MORE economic activities across the world, THAN A HALFHEARTED ATTEMPT TO disrupting trade and chain of supplies, and AGRICULTURE much more. Nigeria is one of the countries hardest hit because of its overly dependence on oil. Oil accounts for 80 per cent exports, 30% of its banking-sector credit, and more than 60% of the overall government revenue. Indeed, the sharp fall in oil prices has almost brought the nation to its kneel. The $57 per barrel benchmark earlier earmarked for the 2020 budget had since been slashed to $30 per barrel. Last week, Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed, said the economy could plunge into another economic recession. “Nigeria’s Q2 GDP growth is in all likelihood negative and unless we achieve a very strong Q3 2020 economic performance the
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Nigerian economy is likely to lapse into a second recession in four years with significant adverse consequences,� she said. She was proved right with the figures recently released as the country suffered the worst contraction in a decade. The COVID-19 containment measures, although necessary, have inhibited domestic economic activities with grave negative impact on taxation and other. Furthermore, the disruption in local agri-food supply chains and higher transaction costs, aggravated by insecurity, are likely to result in substantial decline in agricultural production. Besides the human cost, the COVID-19 shock alone is projected to push about five million more Nigerians into poverty in 2020. This is more so as the country has no form of savings to act as a buffer against the economic onslaught. The Sovereign Wealth Fund is almost depleted. The uncertainty caused by the pandemic has led to a fall in private investment while remittances from Nigerians abroad have dwindled to a trickle. The country is highly indebted, spending more than 60 per cent of its income to service debts. Besides, foreign direct investment and overseas development assistance are more or less at a standstill. In response to the developments affecting the supply of foreign exchange to the economy, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently adjusted the official exchange rate to N360, and more recently to N379. But on the parallel market, about N480 exchange for one American dollar. This has enabled spiral inflation which hit a record 12.82 per cent in July. In a report titled, “Through the Roof: A legacy of high inflation and unemployment,� SB Morgen, an African focusedresearch firm, said annual inflation in Nigeria rose for the 11th straight month in July 2020 as Covid-19 took its toll on imports and logistics. As this newspaper has said repeatedly, the economic crisis should serve as a wake-up call for restructuring the economy and putting it on a new path of rapid growth and development. There is urgent need to reduce the overwhelming dependence on oil, strengthen the budget and service delivery, and above all give more than a half-hearted attempt to agriculture.
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SKIN COLOUR’LL DETERMINE US POLL
I
t is ok to holler “Black Lives Matter� and to advocate for “Black Power� but reality check was the kind of experience I had whilst growing up into my teenage years over here in Minna, and I can conclude that this reality check is representative of the mindset of a larger measure of the population. Back then in the 1980s, the “best� secondary school in Minna was the one that had a Whiteman, Rev. Fr. J.D. O’Connel from Ireland, as the principal and every “serious� parent wanted their charge to school at Government Secondary School (GSS) Minna, the alma mater of Cyril Stober, formerly of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA). My soldier-father contemporaries who “invested� in their sons’ schooling at the GSS Minna have today Dr. Ayuba Dauda (consultant haematologist, Tangale from Gombe State) and Pharmacist Emmanuel Agba (proprietor of Tyonex Pharmaceuticals, Tiv from Benue State) to show as “pay offs� whilst my dad who did not see the need for me to transfer out of the Army Day Secondary School Minna (where Mrs. Gana was our “Blackman� principal) have me today struggling it out as a physics teacher in the university with incessant ASUU strikes to hold up my paychecks for months on end. Wasn’t I smart to insist on a mission school education (Baptist Secondary School Minna) for my daughter who would graduate as a medical doctor in the near future? Thus, we may desire “black emancipation� but we are conscious that any system run by a Whiteman yields positive results most assuredly. That is so even with the way Americans think. Americans feel they are better off entrusting the affairs of their country to “pure whites� rather than to “coloured people� and this line of thinking would hold true in the forthcoming November polls when even African-Americans will conclude that a Joe Biden-Kamala Harris (white-black) democratic ticket isn’t what is good for America. Ultimately, Americans of all shades will put their trust in a white-white (Donald Trump-Mike Pence) Republican ticket. r4VOEBZ "EPMF +POBI %FQBSUNFOU PG 1IZTJDT 'FEFSBM 6OJWFSTJUZ PG 5FDIOPMPHZ .JOOB /JHFS 4UBUF
THE CRISIS IN UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS
I
t is unfortunate that the prestigious citadel of learning, the pride of the nation and the incubator of sagacious minds is in the news recently for petty politics and personal interests of some individuals at the expense of the hard-built reputation of the institution. A situation where those who instil character, learning and refine the potential of individuals are found wanting is disheartening. The immaturity and arrogance with which the unfolding issues escalated into what the University Senate could not handle is shameful. University of Lagos is bigger than anybody. It is a deeprooted institution that no antics can shake. It has come to stay, to impart knowledge and impact on her host country and the world at large positively. It is not a personal business of anybody. It can and should not be run like a private venture of any individual or group. The failure to follow due process in addressing the issues by both parties and the disregard for the university laws would not have been thought of from an institution of such a magnitude. Personally, I am disappointed in the Vice-Chancellor and the Pro-Chancellor. The two parties exhibited actions that are contrary to the ethics, spirit and teachings of our institution. Thankfully, the visitor to the university has saved us the shame. No one should be spared in the investigation and anyone found wanting should not only pay for their misdeeds but also for dragging the university’s reputation through the mud. r2VEVT "EFXBMF -BXBM BMBOJBEFXBMF!ZBIPP DPN
MASK UP PLEASE
T
he COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we live at present with many of us confined to working from home and isolating wherever possible, especially here in Melbourne, Australia where we are panicking about just over 200 new cases today. This is a situation which many countries would be wishing for as their numbers head to the thousands as in the USA where there were just under 50,000 new cases on last Friday. We are basically isolated, working from home, schooling from home and watching too much TV at home although some people have returned to reading books and weeding the garden. The choice of TV shows has suddenly been reduced as the Masked Singer show has had to shut down due to some of the crew catching the virus. It appears that wearing very large, rather ornate masks probably isn’t enough to stop infections. The cast of second rate or lower celebrities and singers have now gone home to isolate, and the general public will have to wait till it’s all clear to see who the next basically has been or never was tries to sing. This shut down has been one of the few positives we have seen recently. This is a time of discomfort for most and for some life changing health issues with too many dying. We need to work together, separately, and wear our masks to get out of this. r%FOOJT 'JU[HFSBME .FMCPVSOF "VTUSBMJB