Not many Nigerians are aware that Nigeria has a comprehensive 30 years , $3trillion/N915trillion integrated infrustructure development master plan that cuts across all the key sectors of our economy.
What this simply means is that to fix Nigeria’s huge and gaping infrastructure deficit, which will help us to create the enabling environment for sustainable enterprise and job creation to thrive competitively, we must attract/invest fiscal and non-fiscal capital of at least $100billion/N30.5trillion annually. This is the kind of volume of investments , YoY that is urgently required to help us halt the growing/ deepening extreme poverty crisis in Nigeria today.
HOWEVER, LETS LOOK AT THE ACTUAL NUMBERS.
In 2017, the total fiscal revenue (oil and non oil revenue) that was generated into the federation accounts was N5.134trillion/$16billion. Interestingly, the whole of these amount was not even adequate to pay salaries, wages, and overbloated profligacies of the less than 1 million civil servants and political office holders across the federation. We had to borrow additional N3.8trillion to service the interest portion of existing huge debts overhang and consumptions.
SPELT OUT IN CAPITAL LETTERS, what we have here in our hand is a clear case of a looming fiscal crisis. The Federal Government of Nigeria did not receive into our federation account enough crude oil sales revenues to even pay 60% of the salaries and wages of less than 1 million civil servants.
We earned $34billion/N10.3trillion from crude oil sales, according to the OPEC facts sheet, however, only N2.3trillion entered the Federation account (out of which the FGN received N1.2trillion).
ONLY THE MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM RESOURCES AND NNPC can explain that gap between the N10.3trillion sales and N2.3trillion receipts).
Out of the N3.8trillion borrowed in 2017, only about N1trillion/$3.2billion was invested in Capital Projects.
In 2017, Nigeria had Foreign Direct Investments of just $4.9billion. Please don’t allow anyone to deceive you that it was $12.2billion. What we received as FDI (Long Term Investments for surainable entreprise value creation in Nigeria) was $4.9billion.
$7.3billion came by way of Foreign Portfolio Investments (FPIs). For the benefits of those, who may not know the difference, FPIs are hot monies. These are capital inflows by short term investors, who came in to take advantages of mostly our high yielding Government Bonds and Treasury Bills. These are investment in the secondary capital market. They fly in and fly out as quickly as they come.
So, in the real sense of it, the aggregate capital investments (FGN, States and FDIs) that was invested into the Nigerian economy in 2017 was less than $10billion/N3trillion.
IN 2018, THE STORY IS EVEN WORSE. the FDI shrunk to $2.2billion . Even tiny next door nieghbour , Ghana got more FDI ($3.3billion) than Nigeria. Our crude earnings that came into the Federation accounts again for 2018 despite oil selling at average price of $72/barrel was about N2.5trillion. Again in 2018, over 79% of our crude sales got lost in transit on its way to our federation accounts.
This is aggregate capital investments in an economy, country and people, that developed a 30 year infrastructure development and capital investment road map that stated in black and white that we shall require $100billion/N30.5trillion annually to enable us even meet up to the status of a 2nd world country.
This is a country that launched with so much fanfare an Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) 20 months ago, that stated in black and white that we shall build 2million housing units (valued at over N12trillion) by 2020. We are in 2019, so how many of those 2million housing units have been built?
What of the planned private sector driven N1trillion Housing Funds that was announced as part of the ERGP 20 months ago? How much have they raised so far?
Interestingly, we are all planning and screaming for elections in the next few days, yet NO ONE IS WORRIED THAT WE HAVE CONSISTENTLY done less than 10% of our plans. Please where on earth or other parts of the world do you see a people who scored 10% in the performances of any given task or target thump their chest and claim victory? Where bikonu?
Most of us have not bothered to introspectively and sincerely ask that deep question-Why are we lagging behind amongst other comtemporary nations of the world? Why are we today far behind, Singapore, Malaysia, UAE, Indonesia etc in all facets of Human Development Index, HDIs?
What can we do or alter in our constitution, governance, fiscal, socioeconomic and automous architecture to enable us hit at least 50-90% of our targets annually (if we can’t score 100%)?
Why are we not demanding from the various candidates who have been in power since 2015 at all levels of governments why we should elect them again in the face of the growing unemployment numbers (23million unemployed Nigerians ) and deepening extreme poverty level (87million); 10 million more extremely poor Nigerians than we had in 2015?
Why are we not demanding to ascertain from those who are angling to replace the incumbents what their own plans are in pursuit of the execution of that urgent/needed constitutional, fiscal and governance reforms?
In the whole of the SE, SS, SW and NC, an overwhelming majority of us totally agree that to fix sustainably the security , fiscal, poverty, governance and socioeconomic challenges facing Nigeria and her constituent parts, we must overhaul and totally RESTRUCTURE NIGERIA TO HER 1957-1966 CONSTITUTIONAL AND FISCAL FRAMEWORK. We must show fiscal discipline and responsibility. So, what demands are we making from those who have been prancing around our constituency seeking for our votes? What have they told you are their plans to help fix this fiscal and governance deformities?
Tony Nwulu and Nnaemeka Obiaraeri, the UPP Governorship and Deputy Governorship Candidates truly understand and appreciate these challenges and how to sustainable fix them. Imolites are in for a good time with us on the saddle. Put your trust in those with capacity, creative solutions, passion, discipline, deep knowledge and global reach to help us fix and transform Imo state.
Vote UPP, ebe esere isi Agu.
Dr Nnaemeka Onyeka Obiaraeri, FICA, MIRA
The Next Deputy Governor of Imo state , May 29, 2019
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