The six billion dollar chain link

By Joseph Rotimi…Ordinarily, Nigerians should be delirious about the achievement of their master negotiator, PMB. The president recently managed to snag some six billion dollars worth of investment package from the Chinese government. This “investment”, to uninformed Nigerians, is supposed to be a selfless contribution by the Chinese government to the economic emancipation of Nigeria, for Nigerians. In fact, according to non-wailers (Adesina, looking at you), Nigerians now have no need to worry, because these “investments” will safeguard their present and guarantee their future, just as these types of “investments” have done previously. But if wishes were horses beggars would ride, so goes the saying.
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When the so-called investment “package” was partially broken down by a presidential spokesman, it entailed direct participation by the Chinese in power generation, transportation, mining, a high-tech park, housing, agriculture, TV station, farm industrial parks and production of industrial meters among others.

 

We have seen all these before, and in Nigeria, it is best to err on the side of caution. In fact, it is right to believe that these investments would result in a comparatively developed nation taking advantage of a less developed one to enhance its economic power. A more powerful nation would never help a weaker one achieve greatness or self-sufficiency unless such help was part of a planned hegemony. The internal contradictions and intractable problems that beset us as a nation can be partially attributed to “outside help.” The British created Nigeria and offered the first “outside help” that resulted in a nation with too many birth defects. These birth defects are at the heart of our unworkable federation.

 

There is nothing wrong with seeking outside investments to boost a nation’s economy but the country seeking outside inputs must be internally ready to utilize such investments. There must be some level of socio-political organization in the recipient country before any external aid can be beneficial. From the details of the promissory six billion dollar worth investments PMB got from the Chinese, Nigeria would ultimately be left indebted as usual. The Chinese would be injecting labour and industrial inputs from China (so-called export line) into the country and we would eventually pay for their “investments” in foreign reserves (currently in US dollars) which according to sources is getting increasingly tied to the Yuan (China’s currency).

 

One high-rise building; no matter how ultra modern will not solve the housing problem anywhere in Nigeria, not to talk of the daunting task of maintaining the building’s so-called ultra modernity in the midst of stone age settings. PMB and his gang scuttled the Lagos metro line in the eighties for unknown reasons, but now, the same project is going to cost 2.5 billion dollars! One weakness appears characteristic of African leadership in general; they do have a universal, galling tendency for planlessness. Where are the infrastructural, scientific and educational structures to sustain a high-tech park when university dons are queuing for fuel for days, half of federal and state universities are closed, while the other half are besieged by gangsters, and private ones too expensive?

 

As usual with our jaded leaders, PMB is putting the cart before the horse in a bid to “develop” the country’s economy. There are fundamental questions that perennially or conveniently, escapes Nigerian leaders that tend to confound their best intentions, if they have any.  The questions are simple: what is the worth of Nigerian citizenship and what does it mean? For example, when a child is conceived in Nigeria, what is the guarantee that the child would be born alive and live up to the first seven years of life in good health? How is the child to be educated and how does the country create the enabling environment for the child to reach its fullest potential? What are the guarantees to the protection of life and property in the country, and how sacrosanct are the implementation of justice and the rule of law?

 

Recently, it was reported that the incessant Fulani Herdsmen (terrorists) terrorism in the country costs about 14 billion dollars annually (see here)! This amount takes care of two so-called Chinese investments with change to spare. This means that if PMB was serious about getting this nation out of its present state of anomie, all he needs to do is sit at home for once to solve the “Fulani problem.” Just doing this alone will add at least 10 billion dollars to Nigeria’s economy yearly instead of running all over the globe like an automated robot. It is also on record that monies from custom duties and company taxes (see here) alone are enough to substantially offset our annual budget and keep the economy going.

 

But instead of compassion, PMB virtually gave the “middle finger” to the victims of the Agatu massacres by Fulani Herdsmen, some weeks ago, while preparing for one of his junkets. The president never visits scenes of calamities in the country and relies on his equally inept media team to make “statements.” He “talks down” instead of conversing with Nigerians about the direction he wants to take the country and seems to have an annoying penchant for making policy statements from foreign capitals.

 

For Nigeria to develop, with, or without external aid we must define who Nigerians are, what their rights are, enforce the responsibilities of government to citizens regarding such rights, enforce the responsibilities of citizens to the state and unequivocally create an environment for everyone to reach his or her fullest potential under the rule of just laws. Nigeria’s constitution has been powerless or ignored in addressing any of these serious foundational issues. But until they are addressed, everything else is just BS.

 

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