Reforming The African Economy: Using Nigeria As A Case Study.
Africa is a continent richly blessed with numerous and wonderful resources ranging from human resources to material resources. However, these resources are either underutilized or inefficient/incompetent. The country Nigeria is in falling standards both economic-wise, health-wise and even security-wise vis-à-vis the comity of nations. The supposed African Giant is gradually losing that title as all of her actions and efforts have been declining lately. The country has prioritized a lot of sectors and ministries but have failed to acknowledge them completely. The country is ruled by amateurs or dilettante and most of them have a superficial knowledge about the various positions or offices they hold. Corruption is not the only cankerworm that is continuously degrading and eating deep into our economic system, political system but also people of diminutive/Lilliputian thinking are supposedly the rulers. Africa as a continent needs the emergence of young brobdingnagian minds as her rulers and also she needs to be emancipated from neo-colonialism, servitude of and to the Western World. The African Economy is continuously and chronologically depleting at every passing moment due to the high dependence of Western products and continuous bastardization of her domestic infant industries. Focusing highly on the goods that the Western World deems fit and not encouraging her infant industries, Nigeria especially focuses solely on import goods and this has killed the growth of her indigenous infant industries.
Furthermore, the sectors or ministries that have been crucial and pivotal roles to regulate, control and manage the activities of the various sectors and industries in this system have failed woefully as the system is full of technocrats who recognize only technical information and possibly might not understand the information which is devoid of the public criticism or their personal opinion and aa such make unethical, unrealistic and forlorn goals. Various sectors of the economy are under continuous degradation as there is underutilization of staffs, inefficiency and incompetency, inadequacy in product service delivery and production process, faulty decision making process, faulty administration etc. The private sector has not been given a full trial ground in Africa, despite a high presence of investors in Africa, there is still a lot of fear and rots per investing in the continent. High tariffs, royalty fees, Corporate Social Responsibility, Environmental Degradation, Imperiousness of the government/politicians, antagonizing bodies or organizations, political instability etc. The only surrogate for this technocrats preoccupying, maladministration & inefficacy in the economy is the active participation of private sectors, commercialization & privatization of various sectors and a host of others. The very albatross of this proposed correctional framework is political instability and policy stoppage in the country. There should be a paradigm whereby politicians/incoming leaders complete and maintain major policies of past administration in order to eschew wastage and economic peril. Privatization and Commercialization of the various major sectors are important panacea in the dwindling and retarding economic state of the country Nigeria and the continent Africa in general.
Privatization is the reorganization of a public enterprise from being under the jurisdiction of the government into private individuals whose sole aim is no longer for the welfare of the social groups or people but it’s solely profit-oriented. Major sectors like the Petroleum Sector, Security/Defense Sector and Power Sectors should be privatized as these are essential and revenue generating industries as well as protection of lives and properties. These things should be applied to allow for a healthy relationship between existing and new indigenous infant industries, also the reduction of royalty fees, taxes etc. Commercialization is the subvention of public enterprises from being under the influence of the government and being under the joint control of the government and private individuals and also the subvention of the entreprise from welfarism to profit making.
Therefore, the Nigerian and African economy needs a rehabilitation as it is in complete and total degradation. The economy is in shambles, the Coronavirus pandemic has further complicated things and as such it has bastardized the growth of the continent’s economy. Africa needs to move from a relapsing import dependent and debt economy to an export and production independent, self-sufficient economy. In conclusion, Nigeria needs to be relieved of such dependency and also be emancipated from neo-colonialism. The current state of the economy needs a new turnaround as the private sector should be given a trial ground and allowed to participate immensely without any segregation whatsoever.
Essiet James Peter 09090584112.
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