It is beginning to look like our leaders are not ready to read the writing on the wall. They don't seem interested in risk analysis during these difficult times. They seem to be too busy to notice that our democracy is not working. Plato thought that democracy was a terrible system, a precursor to tyranny that gave power to selfish and dangerous demagogues. If you look at what's been happening in democracies around the world these days, especially in Africa's most populous countries, it would be hard to disagree with Plato's opinion.
Democracies seem to be producing a glut of incompetent and dishonest political leaders who exploit people's credulity and prejudice and thrive on emotionally-driven discourse and sensational headlines that ultimately mean nothing. are doing.
In other words, our leaders are not resourceful enough to realize that our people are beginning to lose faith in our elected politicians. And with the rise of incompetent political leaders, most people no longer believe that democracy can bring any benefits. This is another time to speak truth to Abuja and his 36 state capitals and those in power in Abuja.
As I pointed out here on Sunday 23rd July last year, I believe that the new authorities in Abuja, the many voices of reason and wisdom that are flowing in at this time, should immediately freeze photo opportunities. I hope that you will listen to this voice. Africa's new strongman needs to freeze mere visits and photo-ops so that he can observe the meaning of the flames in the midst of the thicket called Nigeria at this time. The fire is already burning, although the bush has not yet burned out.
As I mentioned here the other day, oracles are already warning our leaders about rising inflation, which is fueled by the arrival of a new sheriff in town. Now is the time to reflect on the effects that rising transportation costs will have, which Frantz Fanon's “The Wretched of the Earth” still cannot comprehend. It is time for the new powers-that-be to step aside and take a closer look at the burning bush of rising prices and soaring living costs the morning after the inexplicable removal of fuel subsidies. The time has come to form a think tank on the status of our local currency relative to the dollar. I want those in charge of our nation's capital to come out of the presidential cocoon of the Aso villa and address the soaring food prices and the difficulty in paying school fees at all levels in public and private schools even if the constitutional framework is abolished. I would like to see a real report on the risk analysis. The bait of student loans is not clearly set. We hope that risk analysts in the metropolitan areas of Abuja and the 36 state capitals will consider the implications of the recent report that “residents in the state are abandoning the roads.”
And since the bush is still burning, but not yet consumed, it will attract the attention of authorities at all levels and some introspection about personal comfort, personal reward in the context of public service and sacrifice. It is important to work on it. Our leaders should not twist it. This is not the time for careless public policy and insensitive calls for people to understand the times without the accompanying caution that comes with calls for leaders to reconsider their lifestyles.
Their today's lifestyle has ruined our tomorrow. To make matters worse, our leaders are not paying attention to ever-increasing governance costs. They direct civil service leaders to recklessly hire even unqualified cronies and emergency friends. They do not study the color of the expenditure framework before carrying out the project of a large number of consultants. There are many people working in public services across the country who cannot afford to pay their salaries. Revenue agencies and governing bodies even have special remuneration packages that differ from mainstream public services. But now, even the head of the federal civil service and indeed the presidential bureaucracy, despite using the Integrated Personnel and Payroll System (IPPSS) and other digital tools for payment, cannot answer candid questions about the number of public servants. You can not. federation.
Predictably, those who were supposed to know were probably telling the president not to get too distracted in dealing with the rising costs of governance. However, it is beginning to appear to the people living in the world's poorest capitals that their representatives in parliament do not understand the nature of the demands being raised to address the costs of governance. They are not ready to listen to the need to address national desires. They are prepared to increase the cost of governance. Sadly, power over the country's purse, control over the treasury and public accounts generally rests with them.
In his inaugural address in May last year, African Development Bank (AfDB) President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina called on the then-elect, Bola Tinubu, to reduce governance costs.
Mr. Adesina noted that an enlarged government usually leads to higher public sector spending costs, which negatively impacts a country's development process. Speaking on the theme of “Strengthening Nigeria's Economy,'' he said, “Nigeria's cost of governance is too high and needs to be drastically reduced to free up more resources for development.'' Nigeria spends little on development. According to the World Bank's 2022 Public Expenditure Survey Report, Nigeria currently ranks as one of the lowest countries in the world on the Human Development Index, ranking 167th out of 174 countries worldwide. ” called on Mr. Tinubu to rise to the challenges of governance on his first day in office as the country needs leadership that reassures the country with hope for security, peace and stability. On this same topic, Nigeria's Guardian newspaper held a symposium and status report titled “Soaring Governance Costs: Focus on Tinubu'' (July 2, 2023).
The report said President Tinubu, who announced a bizarrely bloated Cabinet, was reminded of the need to reduce the cost of governance in line with current economic realities. According to the article, while the decline in revenue on various fronts, the fiscal measures introduced in the economy, the increasing debt and debt service obligations are already putting a strain on the country's finances, the government will generate real finances. He says he wants to run the country on a budget that is barely available. development.
As a corollary to this problem, development economists and public sector experts daily highlight that fake civil service services cost Nigeria about 30 percent of its annual budget. They claim that the federal government could gain an estimated N12 trillion annually by restructuring the country's workforce.
In 2022, 6.8 trillion rupees of the national budget of 16.3 trillion rupees was spent on paying salaries and other personnel expenses. Last year, the figure was even higher as 8.5 trillion Naira out of the 21.82 trillion Naira budget was spent on payment of salaries, allowances and other incidental expenses of civil servants.
In fact, available data estimates that Nigeria could save N12 trillion annually by merging government ministries and agencies (MDAs) with overlapping functions. This is if we implement the recommendations of the Stephen Oronsaye report (2011) on reducing governance costs. Nigeria is currently neck deep in debt, with the country's total debt currently estimated at N49.85 trillion, according to the Debt Management Office (DMO).
Still, rising governance costs take up a huge portion of annual budgets, leaving surplus funds for development projects. For example, during Buhari's eight years in office, only 19.7% of the total budget expenditure, or 14.5 trillion naira, was earmarked for capital expenditure (CAPEX), much of which ended up on office equipment and household goods. It will be filled. The total capital investment amounted to less than half of the more than 30 trillion naira deficit accumulated by the administration, according to a fact file provided by officials. Can I continue like this? I asked this question last year.
Sadly, in eight years, N59.2 trillion was spent on overhead, personnel costs, other current expenditures and debt servicing. The African Development Bank (AfDB) has warned that rising debt servicing costs could exceed 100% of retained earnings, crowding out investment in the infrastructure needed to develop Africa.
The Guardian also quoted from the DMO's files that from October to December 2022, Nigeria will spend N406.77 billion on domestic debt servicing and $312.27 billion (N143.74 billion) on external debt servicing. ). 550.51 billion naira. From January to March 2023, Nigeria spent N874.13 billion on domestic debt servicing and $801.36 million (N368.87 billion) on external debt servicing, bringing the total to N1.24 trillion. It became Nigeria.
A detailed analysis of Nigeria’s 2023 budget shows that a total of N18.4 trillion has been allocated to all government MDAs. There are a total of 541 of his MDAs and each MDA is estimated to receive about N33.27 billion.
If we follow Oronsey’s recommendation to reduce MDAs to 161, Nigeria would need to save just over N5 trillion on all MDAs combined, saving the country over N12 trillion. On the other hand, the flamboyant lifestyles and lack of fiscal discipline of elected officials are even more worrying.
In the 2023 budget, Nigeria is set to spend N14.2 billion on the Office of the President alone, while the budget for the National Assembly is N228.1 billion. From 2016 to October last year, former President Buhari spent approximately N81.8 billion on maintenance of the Presidential Air Fleet (PAF) and overseas travel.
The huge sum includes 62.47 billion Naira for the operation and maintenance of the PAF, 17.29 billion Naira for international and domestic travel, and 2.04 billion Naira earmarked for related expenses. Since the Buhari administration took office in May 2015, the Office of the President has maintained 10 aircraft.
Under the Buhari administration, the government created many more institutions including the Nigerian Diaspora Commission (NDC), the North East Development Commission (NEDC), the Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB) and others.
In 2020, the Federal Government had to borrow a total of N2.8 trillion from the Central Bank due to revenue provisions. Nigeria spent a total of N5.6 trillion on non-debt recurrent expenditure in 2021, while debt servicing consumed N3.2 trillion in the same year.
The funds were earmarked for MDA’s personnel expenses, which increased from 2.8 billion naira in the 2020 budget to 3 billion naira in the 2021 budget. Labor costs of Government Owned Enterprises (GOEs) also more than tripled from N218 billion (2020) to N701 billion in 2021.
To make matters worse, as Nigerians have expressed concerns about the ballooning government spending, the National Assembly, the body that should be responsible for checking government spending, is not paying attention, as evidenced by the increase from N134 billion in 2022. Moreover, the annual budget has been consistently increased. In the 2023 budget, he is budgeted for N169 billion. In addition, in the 2022 supplementary budget amendment bill of 819.5 billion naira, 70 billion naira has just been allocated to support the “working conditions” of new members. This was the attitude of the people's representatives. They have little understanding of dangerous times. The National Assembly increased the budget allocation by 74.23 percent to N344.85 billion. This is the highest budget allocation ever for the Bundestag, which was originally pegged at NOK 197.93 billion. Incredibly insensitive at this point. Congress spent NGN 3,132 billion over 25 years. The same parliament just spent NOK 160 billion on sports utility vans (SUVs).
So, as the Tinubu government desperately seeks ways to reduce governance costs due to low revenue from oil sales, stakeholders are saying that now is the time to use exemplary leadership and a moderate lifestyle to save democracy. I believe it's time to show that.
This article was first published on January 7, 2024.
