Ezekwesili Laments: 40% of Politicians Knowing Economics Could Have Transformed Nigeria
According to former World Bank Vice President for the African Region Obiageli Ezekwesili, the majority of Nigerian politicians are not familiar with the fundamentals of economics.
Mrs. Ezekwesili reportedly claimed that the bad economic policies of Nigeria’s lawmakers were to blame for the nation’s economic woes.
In an interview with News Central, the former vice president of the World Bank’s African Region bemoaned the fact that political leaders do not consider the consequences of their policies before enacting them.
Ezekwesili, a specialist in economic policy, clarified that Nigerian political leaders prefer to spend their time preparing for the next election rather than enacting economic measures that will benefit the populace.
Listen, if up to 40% of our political leaders are familiar with the fundamentals of economics, I would be shocked. Some of the things we have witnessed in this nation would not have occurred if they had. People just scratch their heads and say, “Let’s do this,” when they encounter a predicament. It’ll function. No. What economic data supports the policy you have chosen? I looked at a few of our notable misses in the past.
People say things like, “We’re going to make sure that we address the petroleum subsidy problem,” for instance, when I see them. They don’t understand, however, that raising a product’s price in an industry that prevents the fundamental laws of supply and demand from operating without being hampered by various governmental blowbacks is just insane,” she described.
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According to the former Minister of Solid Minerals, if authorities had permitted transparency in the oil and gas industry, Nigeria’s economy may have seen a radical transition.
The political elite has taken over the oil and gas industry, she said, and the majority of Nigerian officials view it as a cash cow. According to her, the same change that occurred in the telecoms sector needed to be applied to the oil and gas industry.
“So, you look at our nation’s petroleum and oil and gas industry. What do you observe transpiring? There is a political takeover of that area. If that sector is not viewed by the political elite as one that the leader wishes to keep near and dear, the opportunities in that sector will change drastically. She said, “It is preventing the creativity, ingenuity, and innovation that are possible in that sector where it is to go through a similar kind of thing as what the telecom sector went.”
