There is a Chinese proverb which is very popular among contemporary economists and leaders: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for life”.
The path a government chooses in its economic policy making and implementation tells much about its intentions towards the people. Good governance creates economic policies that increase opportunities for self-fulfillment among the generality of the populace through bailouts, subsidies and critical financing for productive activities.
When the government of General Sani Abacha increased the price of petrol in October 1995, he created the Petroleum Trust Fund, PTF, and appointed retired Major General Muhammadu Buhari as its Executive Chairman. The Fund was charged with the responsibility of using the difference between the old and new pump prices of fuel to rebuild the nation’s broken infrastructure.
It did not exactly teach Nigerians how to fish, but it offered them genuine socio-economic cushions. PTF effectively intervened in reconstructing federal roads, re-equipping public hospitals and rebuilding schools. It was so effective that some called it an “alternative” government. PTF was only criticised for being partial to the North, and the large-scale corruption that was later unearthed.
Ironically, it was when Buhari came back in 2015 as president of Nigeria that government palliatives were bastardised and reduced to outlets for corruption. They introduced what they called “School Feeding”, “Trader Money” and “Conditional Cash Transfers” even while battling economic recessions. They ignored all calls to put the money into the productive sectors of the economy.
His successor, President Bola Tinubu, has continued in the same direction, offering palliatives that go to a few privileged and connected people after taking away petrol subsidy, electricity subsidy and floating the Naira.
The promised Compressed Natural Gas, CNG, mass transit buses are nowhere to be found. The grains allegedly released from the national reserves have made no impact, while many are yet to see the trucks of rice sent through the State Governments for people to buy at N40,000 per bag.
We reiterate, for the umpteenth time, that palliatives are only to be applied as short-term emergency measures as we did during the COVID-19 lock-downs. People needed to be given fish because they were forcefully locked down to tackle the pandemic emergency.
Economic reform measures like petrol subsidy removal and Naira floating require government heavy reinvestment in the productive sectors to boost production. Our economic reforms must be aimed at boosting productivity and self-reliance. They must target employment and wealth creation.
Sending rice to the people 15 months after ending petrol subsidy amounts to giving them fish. We do not need government feeding bottle. Sharing of rice, cash and other corruption-laden inducements is weaponisation of hunger and hardship. Nigerians are being reduced to mendicants.
It is unacceptable!
(Vanguard Editorial)
