By Akin Malaolu
Going by the latest positions of the World Bank that it may take fifteen years to recover from the economic policies of the Tinubu-led administration and to what the Bank later proposed as its own remedies, we are not sure if the World Bank took a critical look at the characteristics of leadership in Nigeria before rolling out their remedies which are mere economic theories in disguise.
At present, the Tinubu-led administration has made a mess of our economic development, reversing our growth back into the sixties when we were just evolving as an independent Nation. Not only are we recording job losses everywhere and everyday,but by our estimations, the economic policies presently pursued by this government will not improve the situation of things in the next fifty years or more.
The characteristics of leadership in the management of our affairs have remained unchanged still, corruption is still high, and everyone could see it showing brilliantly in the way wealth of Nigeria is wasted. Propaganda and lies are daily been used by various governments to project themselves as growing the economy. Government at the federal, State and Local government are all in the capital markets sourcing for loans at higher interest rates, while no one is lending the private sector. This is an indication of lack of discipline and honesty in the management of Nation’s wealth.
As a matter of fact, there are certain measures of social welfare that will provide clues and as useful indicators of economic development across the Nation and these are death rates and infant mortality which are examples of bad image on nutrition, health and medical care. Education which is both an economic variable and as well as an economic infrastructure is also at the negative in relation to cost. The numbers of those dropping out of school are now alarming and whatever affects education will also affect all the other economic variables. Nigeria economy is almost going empty with one hundred and twenty one trillion Naira debt hanging on her neck.
We must warn Nigerians, that Tinubu has lost the economy and going by their actions and pretensions, the people must have to embrace poverty for many decades if there is no change in the characteristics of leadership in Nigeria.
*For ; Yoruba Ronu leadership forum
Akin Malaolu
President