Salisu Suleiman.
A theory is a set of related hypotheses
that attempt to specify the relationship(s) between a set of variables with the
objective of understanding the nature of things. Usually, a theory summarizes a
body of empirical evidence and may be used to derive hypothesis, explain laws
or build models.
Theories also help explain why and how
situations occur or change. They are
needed to enable prediction and explanation of behavior, theoretical advance and
to provide a perspective on action or inaction. In short, theories help us to
explain, predict and understand the actions and conducts of people and systems.
Every field, including economics and
management has theories. I am not an economist or management specialist, so may
not understand the full range of theories available to explain how the
economies of countries are managed. And even if I were, I would probably lack the
intricate knowledge or high level of abstraction needed to extrapolate how
Nigeria’s economy has been managed for the past four years by Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala, who has the grand (and useless) title of Minister of Finance and
Coordinating Minister of the Economy.
In many instances, when scholars or observers
are unable to find a relevant theory to explain behaviour, they are compelled to
modify existing theories or even formulate new ones. However, before a new
theory can be advanced, it is important to study the phenomenon, incident or
trend in question.
Current evidence from the Nigerian
economy suggests that a new theory of economic management may be needed to
explain Okonjo-Iweala’s management of the Nigerian economy. Or is there an
existing economic or management theory to explain a process of deliberate and
systematic use of outright lies to gloss over glaring failures?
In 2014 when it was evident to all but
the most obdurate that oil prices were in steep decline, and Nigeria was going bro
Okonjo-Iweala was at her eloquent best when she declared, “Despite the dwindling revenue of the nation
due to falling crude oil prices and decrease in output,
the nation is not broke
as feared in some quarters.”
She insisted that Nigeria had nothing to worry
about despite the sharp drop in oil prices and the saturation of the industry
with new oil producers. A few weeks later, she turned around and said, “The drop in oil prices is a serious challenge
which we must confront as a country. We must be prepared to make sacrifices
where necessary. But we should also not forget that we retain some important advantages
such as a broad economic base driven by the private sector and anchored on
sound policies.”
Another of characteristic
of Okonjo-Iweala’s management theory is her skill at looking at people straight
in the eye to tell them how stupid she thinks they are. That is why she can
make claim that the economy is on sound footing while borrowing money.
For someone
who presided over a period of high oil prices which was squandered at a
frenetic pace, Okonjo-Iweala is now telling Nigerians that, “We have tried to
work within the budget. Last year, the borrowing came down to about N570
billion, but this year, because of the very difficult cash flow situation, we
have provided N882billion in borrowing. . . About N380billion of that is
external borrowing and the balance of N502 billion is for domestic borrowing.
All we have borrowed so far is N473billion, which is within the budget”.
Now
that Nigeria is broke and tethering on the brink of bankruptcy, with 26 out of
our 36 states unable to pay workers salaries, Okonjo-Iweala still has the
effrontery to tell Nigerians that the administration which has wasted hundreds
of billions of dollars and borrowed tens of billions more is leaving the
country with sound economic policies.
The
outgoing president, Goodluck Jonathan is famed for his fondness for certain
species of bottled fluids, but I've never heard the same allusions made about
Madam Ngozi. If her position on the Nigerian economy is shared by Jonathan,
then the duo undoubtedly shared the contents of the bottled fluids – for greatly
extended periods of time. And the fumes from the bottles clearly have a
debilitating effect on the perception of whoever indulges in it.
In
searching for a theory to explain how leaving a country with huge debts,
massive unemployment, widespread poverty, dwindling currency value and unpaid
workers can be equated with sound economic management, one must go beyond the
better-known theories of economics and management.
And
after a long search, I can only conclude that appointed by a weak president and
robed in a bogus title, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (Ph.D), advanced and applied the
‘Double-faced’ theory of management to run the Nigerian economy aground. The hallmarks
of the theory include profligate spending, high local and foreign debts, choking
poverty, empty foreign reserves, massive unemployment, unpaid workforce and
convoluted economic policies, all rebased and packaged as ‘Africa’s largest
economy’.
Add a comment