The Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Ibrahim Saminu Turaki, has taken a swipe at the economic programmes of the Nigerian government, arguing that the concept of “economy” as perceived by the leadership was wrong.
Speaking with newsmen in the state capital, Dutse, recently, Turaki argued that wrong economic parameters were adopted by policy makers resulting in the under-development of the economy. He also disclosed that by January, his administration would commence implementation of a new education curriculum, which would be at variance with the present curriculum.
Fielding questions on the performance of the economy this passing year, Turaki regretted that the nation has continued its descent into economic abyss. He drew an analogy between the socio-economic condition of Nigeria and those of Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia and many other Asian tigers. According to him, with a comparable population and manpower, the Gross Domestic Products of these countries have continued to rise while that of Nigeria has consistently been on the decline. The Jigawa State Governor lamented that even with the huge revenue from oil, Nigeria’s revenue in recent times was less than 10 percent of what Taiwan made from the sale of electronics alone.
He argued that no other thing could be responsible for this dismal showing but the implementation of wrong economic programmes by policy makers. He also maintained that Nigeria had in the last two decades been implementing wrong economic policies at great human and material cost in addition to the decline in socio-economic conditions of Nigerians. He stated that unless Nigeria moves from a resource-based economy to a knowledge-based one, the ugly trend can never be reversed. "Our concept of economy is wrong,” he said. “Economic parameters used in the past two decades were wrong".
Turaki stated that Nigerian governments at all levels have been investing in the wrong sectors, faulting the decision of the Federal Government to save the country's oil revenue in Dollar denomination and in a foreign land too as an example of wrong policy. These savings according to him, remained useless to Nigerians for as long as long as they are lodged in American banks. "Nigeria is denominating its money in Dollar and saving it in America. Who is using them? No Nigerian has access to it", Turaki lamented.
The Jigawa State Governor therefore, questioned the rationale behind the imposition of the Brettonwood institutions’ conditionalities on Nigerians, and described the World Bank is like a physician and prescribes economic pills to only sick countries, adding, "its policies were aimed at ensuring that poor countries remain poor perpetually". He sought to know which countries in the world World Bank has ever helped to survive. The governor stated that the state government would be effecting a radical change in school curricula and would focus on basic information and communication technology (ICT) as well as biotechnology..
IN RESPONSE TO THE GOVERNOR'S VIEWS, I WILL SOON PULISH ONE OF MY ECONOMIC THEORIES WHICH I HOPE CAN PROVIDE AN IN SIGHT ON HOW TO START.
The Winners Emerge
It was a night of glamour and panache as THISDAY unveiled winners of the 2004 Awards for Excellence and Good Governance at an impressive ceremony held at the Expo Centre of Eko Hotel, Lagos.
Awards for Excellence
BANK OF THE YEAR
Guaranty Trust Bank Plc
BANKER OF THE YEAR
Professor Charles Soludo
MOST IMPROVED BANK
Intercontinental Bank Plc
COMPANY OF THE YEAR
Globacom Ltd
PRODUCT OF THE YEAR
Indomie Noodles
BRAND OF THE YEAR
MTN
OFFER OF THE YEAR
Zenith IPO
STOCK OF THE YEAR
Nigerian Breweries Plc
CEO OF THE YEAR
Dr. Mike Adenuga
Awards for Governance
GOVERNOR OF THE YEAR:
Dr Bukola Saraki, Kwara State
MINISTER OF THE YEAR:
Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,Finance
SENATOR OF THE YEAR:
Senator Udoma Udo Udoma
REPRESENTATIVE OF THE YEAR:
Honourable Aminu Bello Masari
JUDGEMENT OF THE YEAR:
Buhari Vs Obasanjo,Election Tribunal