Economic experts at the Nigeria Economic Summit have set an agenda for the incoming government while agreeing on the need for structural reforms.
Speaking during a panel session titled: ‘the Nigeria we want’, Osita Ogbu, director of the Institute of Development studies, University of Nigeria, noted that Nigeria’s economy is serving the interest of a few citizens as the economic realities make it difficult to achieve shared prosperity.
According to Ogbu, the incoming administration must work towards ensuring a Nigeria where everyone has a stake in governance and can be accounted for.
“Nigeria is working for a few, inequality should not be treated casually because it undermines the solidarity with which citizenship is defined.
“There is a gap between citizens, we are not talking about public education because the few have access to private and international education.
“We need a Nigeria that places emphasis on treating universities as a centre of solution and producing relevant manpower and skills.
Speaking further, Ogbu stressed that while most discussions revolve around physical infrastructure, such as railways, road infrastructure, not so much attention is being paid to critical issues like health, education among others.
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For him, unless the government gets it right in policies and politics it cannot get it right in economy management.
In his remark, Atedo Peterside, the president of Stanbic IBTC bank, noted that issues around oil theft, petrol subsidy, foreign exchange among others must be addressed to enable the country achieve shared prosperity. According to him, Nigerians have become the victims of the government decisions. “There are some errors that the government is making that was not made by previous governments and they are affecting the economy.
“A handful of Nigerians do not have access to foreign exchange, only a few can access it at the official rate. There is a need for us to have a leveled ground for everyone.
“Many Nigerians are going out of business because a well connected man entered the business space and others cannot compete. Today, your ability to access foreign exchange is based on who you know.
“We will not achieve shared prosperity unless we address these issues,” he said.
According to Zainab Ahmed, the Minister of finance, budget and National planning, there is a need to ensure that every Nigerian contributes to the nation’s development through taxation. She stressed on the need for the incoming government to work towards a concentric diversification, adding that no sector is growing high enough as expected.
“We must ensure that tax compliance is improved, all inland services must work together to have a harmonised system so that no one avoid tax payments,” she said.
According to Ahmed, the government is working to incentivise Diaspora inflows, to ensure that Diaspora revenue is used to fund developmental projects.
