RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - World's Hottest Economy Unravels; Nigerians feel the pains

The question to ask and answer truthfully for me, is what is the Bloomberg report's purpose and who are its intended audience? The report may be critical of Nigeria but is it fair at the same time? Nigerians do not need foreign reporters to tell them the state of affairs in their country. It is Nigerians who create and allow conditions in their country to be such, that reports like this one can be written and published outside Nigeria. I prefer to be concerned more with a message than its carrier.
There is little question that Nigeria's economy can be much better managed. Her managers continues to recycle failed public policies. They seemingly pay no more than lip service to making it better. They refuse to learn past lessons. The refuse to be held accountable for their failures. They refuse to change their ways. They refuse to be faithful to other than their private and group interests. They get away with all of the above.
The excuse for poor levels of industrial development is once again a dearth of long term credit institutions. Does anyone remember when the Nigeria Industrial Development Bank was established? Does anyone remember the Nigerian Bank for Credit and Industry, and the Federal Mortgage Bank? What about the Nigerian Agricultural Development Bank? All these institutions like doomed ships, were run aground by government appointed Boards over many years, without consequences for the captains. Each faced a slow and painful decline while many of their senior Directors and senior employees, and borrowers too, prospered for the most part. Membership of the Board of the institutions, like employment in them and credit, were grace and favor dole-outs. A case is again being made for new set of equivalent institutions. Why is anyone confident that the same fate does not await them? What is going to be different? Nigeria has had several national development plans and national budgets. When was the last time any of the plans or budgets was successfully implemented and goals and objectives achieved? Has anyone of political significance been truly interested in why or why not as the case may be?
Tons of tomatoes lay waste in Nigeria's country sides. So do many vegetables, fruits, and other food products. Does anyone remember Tomapep- a tomato puree/paste that was canned in Nigeria for example? What happened to it? The hope must be that the Dangote/Sanusi tomato venture will endure and fare better. Is it not true too that millions of educated, healthy, skilled, and employable young and not-so-young people lay waste in cities and the country sides? Is this enduring waste of valuable human resources a matter of grave moment? If so what is the evidence?
One understands the frustration on all sides of the conversations on Nigeria's development or lack thereof. Many Nigerians have hoped and waited for change that will measurably move a majority of Nigerians out of different avoidable states of poverty. Many are beginning to despair. Their hope and wait are seemingly in vain. Results over delayed can be results denied.
There are those who make excuses for Nigeria's avoidable failures. They argue that Nigeria is a complex country. It is and so is every other country and her governance. Does anyone know of a country that is not? Every country like every enterprise that succeeds, does so usually in spite of known and unknown challenges and odds. Nigeria's should not be different. No country's success has rolled in on wheels of inevitability. There is always a visionary leader and his team. There is always a feasible plan. There is always ability. There is always a will. There is always responsibility. There is always accountability. There is always a willing followership. Then success may happen. Country success is never a matter of foreordination. It is a work-in-progress.
One is even tempted to argue that compared with many other countries, Nigeria's only problem is her people. There comes a time when failure is more a choice than anything else.

oa

-----Original Message-----
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Emeagwali, Gloria (History)
Sent: Sunday, March 08, 2015 11:29 AM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - World's Hottest Economy Unravels; Nigerians feel the pains


Euro- Growth rates

According to the article Nigeria's growth rate in 2014 was 9.9% and IMF projection for 2015 is 4.8%.

They should have left out growth rate statistics altogether to buttress their argument and look at other variables to make their case, given the following 2014 growth rates in the Eurozone:

Overall Eurozone: .2% ;Spain: .4%; Italy: -1%;Germany: .8% (Surpising. Maybe I got this wrong);
France: 0%; Britain: 2.6% (strongest ?).

Let us face it, dooms day theorizing sells well. It is another form of poverty porn.
It is the easy way out. You don't have to sit and think through the solution.
You simply throw your hands up in the air and say 'well it's all going to blow up in flames any way'.

But 180 million people are not that disposable. BH has to be fought in a genuine way and with determination.
Political opportunism has to be abandoned etc. Meaningful activist leadership chosen.

I like the reference in the article to Dangote's tomato factory and Alhaji and Bolanle's iron rod factory. But the authors of the article could not conceal their excitement and glee to envision what they hope will be a future human disaster.

A powerful Black country that becomes the fourth or fifth largest in the world at some point is their nightmare. That is why they are hoping and praying- and maybe plotting - for it to break up.



Professor Gloria Emeagwali
History Department
CCSU. New Britain. CT 06050
africahistory.net
vimeo.com/user5946750/videos
Gloria Emeagwali's Documentaries on
Africa and the African Diaspora

________________________________
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Rex Marinus [rexmarinus@hotmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, March 07, 2015 11:20 AM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - World's Hottest Economy Unravels; Nigerians feel the pains

Ikhide, I'm frankly often stunned by all these your Naijaskepticism! You celebrate every ill-conceived report about Nigeria, as if to say, I told you so! So, Bloomberg is now the oracle on the future and wellbeing of Nigeria? This piece is not only incoherent, its grounds are profoundly flawed from a reporter's standpoint. And on a more general note, I think it's about that time you revised your Conradian views of Nigeria; its become very tiring. Nigeria is not the pit of hell ( the horror! the horror!); it is a profoundly complex society, growing in leaps and bounds; suffering many setbacks as much as it is recording many positive growths. It is governed by men and not by gods. By the way, it is easy for many of us to pontificate on governance and public service and its failures from behind the computers. If you feel that those who govern Nigeria today are listless and uncomprehending, and running beneath your paces, perhaps you can just throw down the gauntlet, organize a political party, run for office, and show us all how well and easy it is to govern Nigeria and solve all its human problems within your first four years.

It is all well and good to be brilliant behind the computers, or while reading second rate reports and insulting, and condescending pieces from provincial metropolitan rag sheets like Bloomberg, who have no ideas what they are often talking about when it comes to Africa and African reality; and which the likes of you then parrot and turn into gospel. We must learn to be charitable to Nigeria even as we examine its contradictions, because indeed, Nigeria is no worse in my estimation than any other place searching for its own solutions to its own complex social problems. What should we do, in your view, with his Bloomberg crap that you just posted? Laugh? Sigh? What? It is no longer sane or even productive to spin Nigeria into a relentless twirl. If you have solutions, step into the creases.
Obi Nwakanma


________________________________
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - World's Hottest Economy Unravels; Nigerians feel the pains
Date: Sat, 7 Mar 2015 09:21:02 -0500
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com

World's Hottest Economy Unravels; Nigerians feel the pains

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/video-worlds-hottest-economy-unravels-230003446.html

- Ikhide

--
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com<mailto:usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com>.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

--
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com<mailto:usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com>.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

--
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

--
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.