Integrate local experts, economic associations in policy making, economists tell FG

…ask govt to stop consulting multilateral bodies, foreign experts alone

Economists have called on the Federal Government to stop consulting foreign experts, the International Monetary Fund [IMF] and the World Bank alone without getting inputs from the local experts in the Country.

They emphasised that the government ought to integrate Nigerian experts and economic associations into the policy making for them to peer-review the suggestions by foreign experts and institutions.

Adeola Adenikinju, President the Nigerian Economic Society [NES], Philip Alege, President, Nigerian Association of Macro-Economic Modelers [NAMM] and Olu Ajakaiye a former Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research [NISER], all Professors, made the call during the third Annual Hybrid NAMM International Conference, held at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State.

The Conference, which had the theme: ‘’Macro-economic Modeling and Data Science for Socio-Economic Development’’.

was supported by the National Bureau of Statistics[NBS], Centre for Petroleum, Energy Economics and Law [CPEEL], UI, Nigerian Economic Society [NES], CAPE Economic Research and Consulting and others.

The Conference brought together a diverse group of stakeholders, including academics, researchers, policymakers, and industry professionals, to deliberate on critical macroeconomic modeling and data science issues in Nigeria.

The trio however urged the government to make use of economic models more in policy formulation and making for optimum economic performance.

Adenikinju maintained that it was important for the government to consult Nigerian experts, not just relying on foreign institutions alone.

“Economic policies have become too sophisticated, that you cannot make them on the basis of intuitions or without proper evidence-based framework. So, you need to have a model that will help you to put all of that analysis in a framework.

”It is very important that the government also consult local experts as they consult foreign partners instead of just relying on the IMF and the World Bank to resolve some of these. When they go to the IMF, the World Bank, India or some of these other countries, their local experts will bring their models. So, models will work with models.

”The government should not just listen to foreign speakers, and foreign experts, but get our own local experts to also be there at the table”, he said.

Ajakaiye,who is of African Centre for Shared Development Capacity Building (ACSDCB), Ibadan, said the government needed to do more in terms of using models in decision-making and involvement of local macroeconomic modelers.

The professor also called on the government to listen to their own experts before receiving advice from their friends from outside.

The former DG of NISER said: ”The Federal Government is listening to advice from the Funds, the bank, and other development partners and organisations. But those suggestions are coming from their models, the understanding of the workings of the Nigerian economy may not be exactly what is in those models.

‘’It is important that before the government accepts the suggestions, it should send the suggestions back to their peers here for reviews and reconciliation. It is in that meeting with experts, and their colleagues from Nigeria that they will then be able to open up their models and reveal their assumptions. Then, Nigerian experts will be able to ascertain if the assumptions are correct or not exactly correct.”