On the rift between Oshiomhole and Melaye

I feel sorry for Nigerians and Nigeria. It seems like we do not have a robust economic team. An economic team that told us some weeks ago that they were preparing a zero- based budget, has turned around and have agreed that they actually prepared an envelope- based one. Are they learning on the job? I see this lack of direction in our made in Nigeria campaign.

One major event in the Nigerian political landscape informed this article – I am sure you might not have considered it a serious issue. And what is this event? It is nothing but the rift between Senator Dino Melaye and our beloved and respected governor, Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole.

Now, let us take a look at the event that made me to start thinking critically about the made in Nigeria campaign. In trying to make a case for made in Nigeria goods, in the floor of the hallowed chambers, Senator Dino Melaye implied that our comrade governor was among the people causing problems for the Naira. How? He implied that the governor’s choice of marrying a beautiful foreigner, and probably haven paid bride price in foreign currencies, could have exerted pressure on the Naira. Looking at Oshiomhole’s retaliation, it was obvious the joke didn’t go down well. Some people have even argued that Oshiomhole consumes more local goods than Dino Melaye. Please Dino, if you haven’t apologized to Edo State’s first family, please do so as soon as possible.

Dino’s comment got me asking if our elites would be able to key into the made in Nigeria campaign. Simply put, it reminded me of how hypocritical some of our elites can be. Please note that Comrade Oshiomhole cannot be regarded as being hypocritical for following his heart. Also, Dino Melaye’s comments got me asking myself if there is any urgency among our elites to industrialize Nigeria. Why have I accused our elites of not being in a hurry to industrialize Nigeria? Last week, the Punch Newspaper quoted the minister of agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, of accusing our elites and banks of not being interested in financing and supporting agriculture. Everyone talks about agriculture but nobody wants to walk the talk. Though our State governments are desperate to get into agriculture because they broke, I am not sure if the people who have the capital to invest have made up their mind to whole-heartedly support the States. In future articles, we shall examine when they haven’t made up their minds.

The event that informed this article points to the fact that the average political commentator might not believe that our elites’ propensity for consuming foreign goods would allow us make significant impact in our made in Nigeria campaign. Also, the absence of a strong policy direction might make us not to achieve any meaningful impact in the campaign. Have you noticed that the CBN governor is busy using monetary policies in trying to achieve what fiscal policies could have easily achieved? With unemployment at 10.4%, increasing interest rate from 11 to 12% would cause some central bankers to scratch their heads. Emefiele is trying his best but some other people should do their job. Battling double digits inflation and unemployment is likely to give any Federal Reserve chairman a high blood pressure.

However, Buhari’s comments at the just concluded economic council conference portrays him as a patriot, not a hypocrite. He proposed that all military, police and paramilitary uniforms be sourced locally. But, some of us, who love the President, still find it hard to defend him. Some of the President’s critics have been arguing that he wants parents, who have wards abroad, to get their forex in the black market, but they aren’t sure if he doesn’t get his from the official window.

There has been numerous campaigns in the media to encourage local production. Thank God for times like this. God has finally answered the prayers of the CEOs of Innoson and Erisco Foods. In my view, these campaigns are still rudderless. May be this is because the economic recession hit us like a Tsunami. We were not expecting it. We are like a rich family, whose father didn’t teach his children how to make money, and when he died the children started jostling about how to maintain their life style. They would surely be as confused as Nigeria.

Let us get to the argument. Let me be fair to our elites, for once – no matter how patriotic you are, you will still consume a lot of things from abroad because you need them. For example, you would not want to lose a beautiful woman from abroad because you are patriotic. Some people even believe that King James rewrote the Bible because of a woman. I can’t believe that some historians said this – it is a big lie. Humor apart, our elites should be ready to live by example and come up with workable plans. For example, Nigeria will not start making planes in the next 15 years. So, we still need to import planes. We have asked automobile companies to set up plants in Nigeria – this is the way to go. But, are we following our recent Automobile Policies? What is the level of implementation? How many cars are Ford and Toyota assembling in Nigeria? 10 or 20 cars?

We are all happy about Innosson. Everyone wants government officials to start using Innoson cars. This is good. Innosson now has contracts from the Nigerian Air Force (NAF). I am loving this. But have you asked what percentage of these ‘made in Nigeria cars’ is imported. How many of the parts that make up these cars are made in Nigeria? The last time I checked Nigeria was not making tyres. Tyres are about the most basic parts of cars. What about technology transfer? I hope I won’t see Chinese workers everywhere in Innoson’s plants? Where did Innoson get those engineers repairing NAF planes? Innoson might be showing good examples, but a lot of the so called Nigerian companies do not have Nigerians in critical positions –thus the made in Nigeria campaign might not be sustainable. We should have strong policies to encourage local manufacturing. Let’s rejig existing policies.

In order to achieve some quick wins in the aerospace sector, the minister of transportation should encourage the establishment of major Aircraft Maintenance, Overhaul and Repair (AMRO) facilities in Nigeria. A report estimates that Nigeria spends hundreds of millions of dollars annually on periodic maintenance of aircraft overseas. This maintenance facilities would not only help us to save forex, we could also build on this value chain if we want to be aircraft manufacturers in future.

Talking about policies, the other day, the President of Nigerian Association of Traders, lamented how the delay in the 2016 Budget (thank God the Senate has finally passed it) and lack of concrete policies are affecting traders all over the country. Most traders don’t even know what price to sell their goods anymore because of the Naira’s gyration. Ifeanyi Ubah was right when he said his own people were the most affected by some recent actions of government. I enjoin NDIGBO to be patient with Buhari. The darkest hour is just before dawn.

Still on polices, the President Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Dr Frank Udemba Jacobs just told us that his members are suffering, probably because of the lack of clear policy direction from government.

I can go on and on, but I will stop here. For now let us wait and see how the made in Nigeria campaign will pan out. About the impression that some commentators have about our elites being hypocritical, let me address them. Two weeks ago, I saw a federal minister on Channels TV, and he was asked something about his nice suits. He replied by saying he bought it a long time ago – not recently as he is now preaching Nigerian goods. For the commonsense Senator, he has been accused of publishing a recent book abroad. I don’t know if it is true, but if it is, we have many publishers here in Nigeria. If you think these things are trivial, go and ask the average American how he would feel if President Obama uses a Japanese or European car as his official vehicle.

That reminds me, while writing this piece, I ran into a well-articulated piece by Magnus Onyinbe on how Buhari can get the Nigerian economy back on track. I so enjoyed the piece until the former commissioner in Delta state advised the APC to seek the help of masters like Joseph Stiglitz and Paul Krugman. When will we start valuing our own? We have masters like Bismarck Rewane, Charles Soludo, Akpan Ekpo, etc. The truth is that no matter how good an economist is, if he doesn’t get the political backings he needs, his efforts will amount to nothing.

In the word of Donald Trump’s campaign team, let us make Nigeria great again!  I hope I didn’t import that phrase from America?