Last week, I attempted to profile how politicians and civil servants brought the Nigerian economy to its knees despite huge potential and realised resources within the context of economic mismanagement and overarching corruption, supported by the majority of citizens overwhelmed by religious, tribal, or ethnic sentiments and deepened illiteracy. I explained, “A country where people vote based on stomach infrastructure and rigged elections using the same electorates cannot produce credible leaders. A country where politicians found guilty of corruption and jailed are later voted into the State and National Assembly to make laws cannot complain of a lack of transparency and accountability in governance. Sadly, that is our story.The amount being demanded by bandits and criminals has been rising in tandem with the magnitude of money being stolen by government officials. Corruption has moved from 10 per cent of contracts at the time of General Gowon in the early 1970s to over 40 per cent in the early days of the National Party of Nigeria and the collection of contracts sums without executing the project in the later years of the party! When corrupt politicians and officials were stealing millions of naira, the demand of bandits or terrorists was in thousands, and when the amount shifted to billions, the demand shifted to millions. Today, stealing from the public is sadly moving into trillions, and the bandits and criminals are also moving up. The incentive for criminality is regularly enhanced by the lucrativeness of corruption.The current government’s major monetary and fiscal policies produced, expectedly, inflation which has been exacerbated initially by the Russia-Ukraine war and later, the U.S., Isreal and Iran war. Policy makers continue to watch the rising cost of living and sometimes exacerbate inflation with high interest rates and high energy costs. The policies also produced humongous savings and revenues, which reportedly increased statutory revenue allocations to all tiers of government. The results on the ground do not reflect the benefits of improved revenue. There is no doubt that the federal government spent a large proportion of its revenue share in debt repayment and debt servicing with a view to reducing the external debt committed by the previous government and to give room and opportunity for the current government to be creditworthy.The federal government has continuously contracted new external loans, compounding and compromising future economic development. External debt, in particular, continued to mount, and wasteful spending/mismanagement of revenues has been going on simultaneously. Spending on the political class, including dollar gifts during one of the religious festivals and many unplanned travels, has resulted in a quick depletion of the funds. The politicians and public servants working closely with them are living in unexplained affluence while the rest of the populace exhibits poverty.Expectedly, outcomes of the economic policies and implementation have generated more revenue to the government, but a higher level of poverty and insecurity in the country. Infrastructure contracts, mainly roads, were awarded at highly inflated costs, given the cost of the same projects in other African countries. Local contractors are owed billions of naira, and workers’ take-home pay cannot take them home (reference to ASUU) because of inflation. Consumption has been res tricted to a few basic products, making production of many other products worthless and shrinking businesses.Related NewsSecurity crisis result of poor governance, poverty – Bauchi govSERAP sues NNPC over alleged N5.9bn rebranding expenditureFCT residents decry rising cost of tomatoesMany graduates are jobless because the economy is not expanding. To cover up, we claim that the graduates are not employable because they have no skills for available jobs. Yet, the same graduates are in high demand abroad, where jobs are expanding. They are retrained for the available jobs and quickly fit in. Even if they are not skilled, is it their fault or the fault of the low-quality education that we offer due to the underfunding of education by various governments? In other circumstances, we expected them to create jobs. Entrepreneurship is made compulsory in universities as if starting a job does not involve some funds, and most of the jobless graduates are from poor homes. Politicians not only get jobs for their children and concubines, but they are also choosy about where they will work.Some economists have argued that China’s economy grew through the kind of reforms and current economic policies of infrastructure development and massive investment in tertiary education. Giving hope that the Nigerian economy is on course for a greater tomorrow. Was China’s economic environment as toxic as our own? Was corruption allowed in China? Did China develop under an avoidable huge debt overhang? Was investment in education limited to the provision of loans to students or an overhaul investment in quality teaching and research? The current operating policy implementation environment in Nigeria today is different from that of China at the time of the reforms. Thus, the outcomes cannot be the same.Inflation has seriously affected the value of wages and salaries of consumers as well as the profits of businesses. Many businesses closed down under the weight of inflation and naira devaluation, with many families losing their jobs, and employment opportunities continued to shrink. The middle class continued to evaporate, and income disparity, as measured by the Gini coefficient or the Lorenz curve, widened. Joblessness and income disparity resulted in rising criminality. This is different from banditry as exemplified by the recent abduction of the sister of the former Minister of Power, where the criminals thought wisely but mistakenly that they could get their share of the commonwealth in the hands of the Minister through the kidnapping of his sister.There is a saying that a seed yam will rot before it starts germinating, and Nigeria will soon change for good. Is Nigeria not rotten yet? But Nigeria is not a yam. It is already rotten with corruption and the connivance of Nigerians. In this connection, one should not be surprised if the former Kogi State governor, Yaya Bello, defeats Senator Natasha in the next senatorial election without public protest. Presenting Yaya Bello, the EFCC suspect, as a candidate for election in the first place is symptomatic of a rotten society, and winning the election is another level of insanity. But this is akin to rotten Nigeria. Nigeria needs redemption to make progress economically. The amount being demanded by bandits and criminals has been rising in tandem with the magnitude of money being stolen by government officials. Corruption has moved from 10 per cent of contracts at the time of General Gowon in the early 1970s to over 40 per cent in the early days of the National Party of Nigeria and the collection of contracts sums without executing the project in the later years of the party! When corrupt politicians and officials were stealing millions of naira, the demand of bandits or terrorists was in thousands, and when the amount shifted to billions, the demand shifted to millions. Today, stealing from the public is sadly moving into trillions, and the bandits and criminals are also moving up. The incentive for criminality is regularly enhanced by the lucrativeness of corruption.The current government’s major monetary and fiscal policies produced, expectedly, inflation which has been exacerbated initially by the Russia-Ukraine war and later, the U.S., Isreal and Iran war. Policy makers continue to watch the rising cost of living and sometimes exacerbate inflation with high interest rates and high energy costs. The policies also produced humongous savings and revenues, which reportedly increased statutory revenue allocations to all tiers of government. The results on the ground do not reflect the benefits of improved revenue. There is no doubt that the federal government spent a large proportion of its revenue share in debt repayment and debt servicing with a view to reducing the external debt committed by the previous government and to give room and opportunity for the current government to be creditworthy.The federal government has continuously contracted new external loans, compounding and compromising future economic development. External debt, in particular, continued to mount, and wasteful spending/mismanagement of revenues has been going on simultaneously. Spending on the political class, including dollar gifts during one of the religious festivals and many unplanned travels, has resulted in a quick depletion of the funds. The politicians and public servants working closely with them are living in unexplained affluence while the rest of the populace exhibits poverty.Expectedly, outcomes of the economic policies and implementation have generated more revenue to the government, but a higher level of poverty and insecurity in the country. Infrastructure contracts, mainly roads, were awarded at highly inflated costs, given the cost of the same projects in other African countries. Local contractors are owed billions of naira, and workers’ take-home pay cannot take them home (reference to ASUU) because of inflation. Consumption has been res tricted to a few basic products, making production of many other products worthless and shrinking businesses.Related NewsSecurity crisis result of poor governance, poverty – Bauchi govSERAP sues NNPC over alleged N5.9bn rebranding expenditureFCT residents decry rising cost of tomatoesMany graduates are jobless because the economy is not expanding. To cover up, we claim that the graduates are not employable because they have no skills for available jobs. Yet, the same graduates are in high demand abroad, where jobs are expanding. They are retrained for the available jobs and quickly fit in. Even if they are not skilled, is it their fault or the fault of the low-quality education that we offer due to the underfunding of education by various governments? In other circumstances, we expected them to create jobs. Entrepreneurship is made compulsory in universities as if starting a job does not involve some funds, and most of the jobless graduates are from poor homes. Politicians not only get jobs for their children and concubines, but they are also choosy about where they will work.Some economists have argued that China’s economy grew through the kind of reforms and current economic policies of infrastructure development and massive investment in tertiary education. Giving hope that the Nigerian economy is on course for a greater tomorrow. Was China’s economic environment as toxic as our own? Was corruption allowed in China? Did China develop under an avoidable huge debt overhang? Was investment in education limited to the provision of loans to students or an overhaul investment in quality teaching and research? The current operating policy implementation environment in Nigeria today is different from that of China at the time of the reforms. Thus, the outcomes cannot be the same.Inflation has seriously affected the value of wages and salaries of consumers as well as the profits of businesses. Many businesses closed down under the weight of inflation and naira devaluation, with many families losing their jobs, and employment opportunities continued to shrink. The middle class continued to evaporate, and income disparity, as measured by the Gini coefficient or the Lorenz curve, widened. Joblessness and income disparity resulted in rising criminality. This is different from banditry as exemplified by the recent abduction of the sister of the former Minister of Power, where the criminals thought wisely but mistakenly that they could get their share of the commonwealth in the hands of the Minister through the kidnapping of his sister.There is a saying that a seed yam will rot before it starts germinating, and Nigeria will soon change for good. Is Nigeria not rotten yet? But Nigeria is not a yam. It is already rotten with corruption and the connivance of Nigerians. In this connection, one should not be surprised if the former Kogi State governor, Yaya Bello, defeats Senator Natasha in the next senatorial election without public protest. Presenting Yaya Bello, the EFCC suspect, as a candidate for election in the first place is symptomatic of a rotten society, and winning the election is another level of insanity. But this is akin to rotten Nigeria. Nigeria needs redemption to make progress economically. The current government’s major monetary and fiscal policies produced, expectedly, inflation which has been exacerbated initially by the Russia-Ukraine war and later, the U.S., Isreal and Iran war. Policy makers continue to watch the rising cost of living and sometimes exacerbate inflation with high interest rates and high energy costs. The policies also produced humongous savings and revenues, which reportedly increased statutory revenue allocations to all tiers of government. The results on the ground do not reflect the benefits of improved revenue. There is no doubt that the federal government spent a large proportion of its revenue share in debt repayment and debt servicing with a view to reducing the external debt committed by the previous government and to give room and opportunity for the current government to be creditworthy.The federal government has continuously contracted new external loans, compounding and compromising future economic development. External debt, in particular, continued to mount, and wasteful spending/mismanagement of revenues has been going on simultaneously. Spending on the political class, including dollar gifts during one of the religious festivals and many unplanned travels, has resulted in a quick depletion of the funds. The politicians and public servants working closely with them are living in unexplained affluence while the rest of the populace exhibits poverty.Expectedly, outcomes of the economic policies and implementation have generated more revenue to the government, but a higher level of poverty and insecurity in the country. Infrastructure contracts, mainly roads, were awarded at highly inflated costs, given the cost of the same projects in other African countries. Local contractors are owed billions of naira, and workers’ take-home pay cannot take them home (reference to ASUU) because of inflation. Consumption has been res tricted to a few basic products, making production of many other products worthless and shrinking businesses.Related NewsSecurity crisis result of poor governance, poverty – Bauchi govSERAP sues NNPC over alleged N5.9bn rebranding expenditureFCT residents decry rising cost of tomatoesMany graduates are jobless because the economy is not expanding. To cover up, we claim that the graduates are not employable because they have no skills for available jobs. Yet, the same graduates are in high demand abroad, where jobs are expanding. They are retrained for the available jobs and quickly fit in. Even if they are not skilled, is it their fault or the fault of the low-quality education that we offer due to the underfunding of education by various governments? In other circumstances, we expected them to create jobs. Entrepreneurship is made compulsory in universities as if starting a job does not involve some funds, and most of the jobless graduates are from poor homes. Politicians not only get jobs for their children and concubines, but they are also choosy about where they will work.Some economists have argued that China’s economy grew through the kind of reforms and current economic policies of infrastructure development and massive investment in tertiary education. Giving hope that the Nigerian economy is on course for a greater tomorrow. Was China’s economic environment as toxic as our own? Was corruption allowed in China? Did China develop under an avoidable huge debt overhang? Was investment in education limited to the provision of loans to students or an overhaul investment in quality teaching and research? The current operating policy implementation environment in Nigeria today is different from that of China at the time of the reforms. Thus, the outcomes cannot be the same.Inflation has seriously affected the value of wages and salaries of consumers as well as the profits of businesses. Many businesses closed down under the weight of inflation and naira devaluation, with many families losing their jobs, and employment opportunities continued to shrink. The middle class continued to evaporate, and income disparity, as measured by the Gini coefficient or the Lorenz curve, widened. Joblessness and income disparity resulted in rising criminality. This is different from banditry as exemplified by the recent abduction of the sister of the former Minister of Power, where the criminals thought wisely but mistakenly that they could get their share of the commonwealth in the hands of the Minister through the kidnapping of his sister.There is a saying that a seed yam will rot before it starts germinating, and Nigeria will soon change for good. Is Nigeria not rotten yet? But Nigeria is not a yam. It is already rotten with corruption and the connivance of Nigerians. In this connection, one should not be surprised if the former Kogi State governor, Yaya Bello, defeats Senator Natasha in the next senatorial election without public protest. Presenting Yaya Bello, the EFCC suspect, as a candidate for election in the first place is symptomatic of a rotten society, and winning the election is another level of insanity. But this is akin to rotten Nigeria. Nigeria needs redemption to make progress economically. The federal government has continuously contracted new external loans, compounding and compromising future economic development. External debt, in particular, continued to mount, and wasteful spending/mismanagement of revenues has been going on simultaneously. Spending on the political class, including dollar gifts during one of the religious festivals and many unplanned travels, has resulted in a quick depletion of the funds. The politicians and public servants working closely with them are living in unexplained affluence while the rest of the populace exhibits poverty.Expectedly, outcomes of the economic policies and implementation have generated more revenue to the government, but a higher level of poverty and insecurity in the country. Infrastructure contracts, mainly roads, were awarded at highly inflated costs, given the cost of the same projects in other African countries. Local contractors are owed billions of naira, and workers’ take-home pay cannot take them home (reference to ASUU) because of inflation. Consumption has been res tricted to a few basic products, making production of many other products worthless and shrinking businesses.Related NewsSecurity crisis result of poor governance, poverty – Bauchi govSERAP sues NNPC over alleged N5.9bn rebranding expenditureFCT residents decry rising cost of tomatoesMany graduates are jobless because the economy is not expanding. To cover up, we claim that the graduates are not employable because they have no skills for available jobs. Yet, the same graduates are in high demand abroad, where jobs are expanding. They are retrained for the available jobs and quickly fit in. Even if they are not skilled, is it their fault or the fault of the low-quality education that we offer due to the underfunding of education by various governments? In other circumstances, we expected them to create jobs. Entrepreneurship is made compulsory in universities as if starting a job does not involve some funds, and most of the jobless graduates are from poor homes. Politicians not only get jobs for their children and concubines, but they are also choosy about where they will work.Some economists have argued that China’s economy grew through the kind of reforms and current economic policies of infrastructure development and massive investment in tertiary education. Giving hope that the Nigerian economy is on course for a greater tomorrow. Was China’s economic environment as toxic as our own? Was corruption allowed in China? Did China develop under an avoidable huge debt overhang? Was investment in education limited to the provision of loans to students or an overhaul investment in quality teaching and research? The current operating policy implementation environment in Nigeria today is different from that of China at the time of the reforms. Thus, the outcomes cannot be the same.Inflation has seriously affected the value of wages and salaries of consumers as well as the profits of businesses. Many businesses closed down under the weight of inflation and naira devaluation, with many families losing their jobs, and employment opportunities continued to shrink. The middle class continued to evaporate, and income disparity, as measured by the Gini coefficient or the Lorenz curve, widened. Joblessness and income disparity resulted in rising criminality. This is different from banditry as exemplified by the recent abduction of the sister of the former Minister of Power, where the criminals thought wisely but mistakenly that they could get their share of the commonwealth in the hands of the Minister through the kidnapping of his sister.There is a saying that a seed yam will rot before it starts germinating, and Nigeria will soon change for good. Is Nigeria not rotten yet? But Nigeria is not a yam. It is already rotten with corruption and the connivance of Nigerians. In this connection, one should not be surprised if the former Kogi State governor, Yaya Bello, defeats Senator Natasha in the next senatorial election without public protest. Presenting Yaya Bello, the EFCC suspect, as a candidate for election in the first place is symptomatic of a rotten society, and winning the election is another level of insanity. But this is akin to rotten Nigeria. Nigeria needs redemption to make progress economically. Expectedly, outcomes of the economic policies and implementation have generated more revenue to the government, but a higher level of poverty and insecurity in the country. Infrastructure contracts, mainly roads, were awarded at highly inflated costs, given the cost of the same projects in other African countries. Local contractors are owed billions of naira, and workers’ take-home pay cannot take them home (reference to ASUU) because of inflation. Consumption has been res tricted to a few basic products, making production of many other products worthless and shrinking businesses.Related NewsSecurity crisis result of poor governance, poverty – Bauchi govSERAP sues NNPC over alleged N5.9bn rebranding expenditureFCT residents decry rising cost of tomatoesMany graduates are jobless because the economy is not expanding. To cover up, we claim that the graduates are not employable because they have no skills for available jobs. Yet, the same graduates are in high demand abroad, where jobs are expanding. They are retrained for the available jobs and quickly fit in. Even if they are not skilled, is it their fault or the fault of the low-quality education that we offer due to the underfunding of education by various governments? In other circumstances, we expected them to create jobs. Entrepreneurship is made compulsory in universities as if starting a job does not involve some funds, and most of the jobless graduates are from poor homes. Politicians not only get jobs for their children and concubines, but they are also choosy about where they will work.Some economists have argued that China’s economy grew through the kind of reforms and current economic policies of infrastructure development and massive investment in tertiary education. Giving hope that the Nigerian economy is on course for a greater tomorrow. Was China’s economic environment as toxic as our own? Was corruption allowed in China? Did China develop under an avoidable huge debt overhang? Was investment in education limited to the provision of loans to students or an overhaul investment in quality teaching and research? The current operating policy implementation environment in Nigeria today is different from that of China at the time of the reforms. Thus, the outcomes cannot be the same.Inflation has seriously affected the value of wages and salaries of consumers as well as the profits of businesses. Many businesses closed down under the weight of inflation and naira devaluation, with many families losing their jobs, and employment opportunities continued to shrink. The middle class continued to evaporate, and income disparity, as measured by the Gini coefficient or the Lorenz curve, widened. Joblessness and income disparity resulted in rising criminality. This is different from banditry as exemplified by the recent abduction of the sister of the former Minister of Power, where the criminals thought wisely but mistakenly that they could get their share of the commonwealth in the hands of the Minister through the kidnapping of his sister.There is a saying that a seed yam will rot before it starts germinating, and Nigeria will soon change for good. Is Nigeria not rotten yet? But Nigeria is not a yam. It is already rotten with corruption and the connivance of Nigerians. In this connection, one should not be surprised if the former Kogi State governor, Yaya Bello, defeats Senator Natasha in the next senatorial election without public protest. Presenting Yaya Bello, the EFCC suspect, as a candidate for election in the first place is symptomatic of a rotten society, and winning the election is another level of insanity. But this is akin to rotten Nigeria. Nigeria needs redemption to make progress economically. Many graduates are jobless because the economy is not expanding. To cover up, we claim that the graduates are not employable because they have no skills for available jobs. Yet, the same graduates are in high demand abroad, where jobs are expanding. They are retrained for the available jobs and quickly fit in. Even if they are not skilled, is it their fault or the fault of the low-quality education that we offer due to the underfunding of education by various governments? In other circumstances, we expected them to create jobs. Entrepreneurship is made compulsory in universities as if starting a job does not involve some funds, and most of the jobless graduates are from poor homes. Politicians not only get jobs for their children and concubines, but they are also choosy about where they will work.Some economists have argued that China’s economy grew through the kind of reforms and current economic policies of infrastructure development and massive investment in tertiary education. Giving hope that the Nigerian economy is on course for a greater tomorrow. Was China’s economic environment as toxic as our own? Was corruption allowed in China? Did China develop under an avoidable huge debt overhang? Was investment in education limited to the provision of loans to students or an overhaul investment in quality teaching and research? The current operating policy implementation environment in Nigeria today is different from that of China at the time of the reforms. Thus, the outcomes cannot be the same.Inflation has seriously affected the value of wages and salaries of consumers as well as the profits of businesses. Many businesses closed down under the weight of inflation and naira devaluation, with many families losing their jobs, and employment opportunities continued to shrink. The middle class continued to evaporate, and income disparity, as measured by the Gini coefficient or the Lorenz curve, widened. Joblessness and income disparity resulted in rising criminality. This is different from banditry as exemplified by the recent abduction of the sister of the former Minister of Power, where the criminals thought wisely but mistakenly that they could get their share of the commonwealth in the hands of the Minister through the kidnapping of his sister.There is a saying that a seed yam will rot before it starts germinating, and Nigeria will soon change for good. Is Nigeria not rotten yet? But Nigeria is not a yam. It is already rotten with corruption and the connivance of Nigerians. In this connection, one should not be surprised if the former Kogi State governor, Yaya Bello, defeats Senator Natasha in the next senatorial election without public protest. Presenting Yaya Bello, the EFCC suspect, as a candidate for election in the first place is symptomatic of a rotten society, and winning the election is another level of insanity. But this is akin to rotten Nigeria. Nigeria needs redemption to make progress economically. Some economists have argued that China’s economy grew through the kind of reforms and current economic policies of infrastructure development and massive investment in tertiary education. Giving hope that the Nigerian economy is on course for a greater tomorrow. Was China’s economic environment as toxic as our own? Was corruption allowed in China? Did China develop under an avoidable huge debt overhang? Was investment in education limited to the provision of loans to students or an overhaul investment in quality teaching and research? The current operating policy implementation environment in Nigeria today is different from that of China at the time of the reforms. Thus, the outcomes cannot be the same.Inflation has seriously affected the value of wages and salaries of consumers as well as the profits of businesses. Many businesses closed down under the weight of inflation and naira devaluation, with many families losing their jobs, and employment opportunities continued to shrink. The middle class continued to evaporate, and income disparity, as measured by the Gini coefficient or the Lorenz curve, widened. Joblessness and income disparity resulted in rising criminality. This is different from banditry as exemplified by the recent abduction of the sister of the former Minister of Power, where the criminals thought wisely but mistakenly that they could get their share of the commonwealth in the hands of the Minister through the kidnapping of his sister.There is a saying that a seed yam will rot before it starts germinating, and Nigeria will soon change for good. Is Nigeria not rotten yet? But Nigeria is not a yam. It is already rotten with corruption and the connivance of Nigerians. In this connection, one should not be surprised if the former Kogi State governor, Yaya Bello, defeats Senator Natasha in the next senatorial election without public protest. Presenting Yaya Bello, the EFCC suspect, as a candidate for election in the first place is symptomatic of a rotten society, and winning the election is another level of insanity. But this is akin to rotten Nigeria. Nigeria needs redemption to make progress economically. Inflation has seriously affected the value of wages and salaries of consumers as well as the profits of businesses. Many businesses closed down under the weight of inflation and naira devaluation, with many families losing their jobs, and employment opportunities continued to shrink. The middle class continued to evaporate, and income disparity, as measured by the Gini coefficient or the Lorenz curve, widened. Joblessness and income disparity resulted in rising criminality. This is different from banditry as exemplified by the recent abduction of the sister of the former Minister of Power, where the criminals thought wisely but mistakenly that they could get their share of the commonwealth in the hands of the Minister through the kidnapping of his sister.There is a saying that a seed yam will rot before it starts germinating, and Nigeria will soon change for good. Is Nigeria not rotten yet? But Nigeria is not a yam. It is already rotten with corruption and the connivance of Nigerians. In this connection, one should not be surprised if the former Kogi State governor, Yaya Bello, defeats Senator Natasha in the next senatorial election without public protest. Presenting Yaya Bello, the EFCC suspect, as a candidate for election in the first place is symptomatic of a rotten society, and winning the election is another level of insanity. But this is akin to rotten Nigeria. Nigeria needs redemption to make progress economically. There is a saying that a seed yam will rot before it starts germinating, and Nigeria will soon change for good. Is Nigeria not rotten yet? But Nigeria is not a yam. It is already rotten with corruption and the connivance of Nigerians. In this connection, one should not be surprised if the former Kogi State governor, Yaya Bello, defeats Senator Natasha in the next senatorial election without public protest. Presenting Yaya Bello, the EFCC suspect, as a candidate for election in the first place is symptomatic of a rotten society, and winning the election is another level of insanity. But this is akin to rotten Nigeria. Nigeria needs redemption to make progress economically.