Okenyi kenechi
The very concept that Nigeria is a rich country is a lie. Fact is, Nigeria is a very poor country whose poor resources are mismanaged by 1% of its population.
Nigeria is a country where year after year, budgets from the Federal to States down to LGAs are filled with inane things like the purchase of cars of which the costs are usually more than that of Education and health.
The leaders only care about their luxury and not wealth creation.
In the coronavirus era, Canada set out 200 billion dollars to refloat its economy and mitigate the impact.
Japan set out 1 trillion dollars to help companies, especially small businesses to remain afloat.
Spain and Italy will be spending over 800 billion Euros to support businesses.
Yesterday, Germany announced it will use 9 billion euros to support Lufthansa airline so it could remain operational. It will be dumping over 500 billion euros on its economy.
France will be supporting Air France-KLM with tens of billions of dollars to remain operational.
US already shared $2 trillion stimulus package to citizens while $484 billion support to businesses will be passed by the house.
But Nigeria is borrowing left, right and centre to keep the politicians afloat and not the economy. CBN set out a misery 50 billion Naira to help companies who suffered from the COVID-19 but NASS will renovate its complex with over 30 billion after budgeting over 10 billion for cars Nigeria does not produce?
Buhari got approval to borrow 850 billion Naira and IMF also granted his request for $3.4 billion loan yesterday but they will end up being used to service the politicians.
Here is the irony.
In those rich countries above, none of their leaders have motorcades that are longer than Imo river. The motorcade of Nigeria’s speaker of House of Representative, has one Mercedes Limousine, one Lexus SUV, two prado SUVs and 3 Toyota hilux trucks. The cost of these vehicles is bigger than what each federal teaching hospital got from the FG in the budget this year.
The fleet of cars the the Senate president, speaker and ministers have can turn six regional hospitals around into world-class. But look at our priority – consumerism.
None of those rich countries budgets annually to buy cars for the politicians. Politicians are paid as minimum as possible while the economy is structured for wealth creation.
Politics controls the economy but the economy supports politics. Wealth cannot be created in a command and control political terrain where the president has unchecked powers. Wealth cannot be created in a place where rule of law does not exist. Wealth cannot be created where there is insecurity. These are basic templates for wealth creation.
The more we delude ourselves by electing morons whose only joy is in buying cars and building expansive houses in the midst of squalor, people whose mentality are so poor yet we pay heavily for it, we will continue to save nothing and borrow to feed when we can create and recreate wealth.
