REVITALIZING NIGERIA THROUGH DIVERSIFICATION OF HER ECONOMY

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

The easy definition of revitalization is the process of a city or neighborhood improving after being undesirable experience. But a good definition turns out to be hard. It’s hard to define when a place needs revitalizing and hard to define what that means even when everyone agrees that it is happening. According to the oxford advanced learner’s Dictionary, Revitalization is to make something stronger, more active or more healthy. In 1956, Anthony F.C. Wallace published a paper called ‘’Revitalization movements’’ to describe how cultures change themselves. A revitalization movement is a deliberates, organized, conscious effort by members of a society to construct a more satisfying culture, and Wallace describes at length the processes by which a revitalization movement takes place. Wallace’s model 1956 describes the process of a revitalization movement as follows:- i. period of generally satisfactory adaptations to a group’s social and natural environment. ii. period of increased individual stress while the group as a whole is able to survive through its accustomed cultural behavior, changes in the social or natural environment frustrate efforts of many people to obtain normal satisfactions of their needs. iii. period of cultural distortion; changes in the group’s social or natural environment drastically reduce the capacity of accustomed cultural behaviour to satisfy most person’s physical and emotional needs.

(i) reformulation of the cultural pattern (ii) its communication (iii) organization of a reformulated cultural pattern (iv) Adaptation of the reformulated pattern to be better meet the needs and preferences of the group (v) cultural transformation (vi) reutilization, when the adapted reformulated cultural pattern becomes the standard cultural behaviour for the group. v. new period of generally satisfactory adaptation to the group’s changed social or natural environment. Nigeria is a middle income, mixed economy and emerging market with expanding financial, service, communications, technology and entertainment sectors it is ranked as the 21st largest economy in the world in terms of nominal Gross domestic product (GDP) power parity. It is the largest economy in Africa, its re-emergent, though currently under performing, manufacturing sector is the third-largest on the continent and produces a large proportion of goods and services for the West African sub region. Nigeria recently changed its economic analysis to account for rapidly growing contributors to its Gross domestic product, such as telecommunications, banking and its film industry.

It is usually argued that corruption at home is primarily responsible for Nigeria’s plight, while disregarding the part her supposed allies play in under developing her economy. This doesn’t exculpate Nigeria’s past leaders from corruption, It only points out the hand work of her allies through main stream economics in worsening her already battered situation. So much illusion wascreated by the west by constantly convincing her leaders and populace that growth is actually recorded in the economy. Growth of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is greeted with much brouhaha. The value of FDI (foreign Direct Investment) hitting an all – time high has become the bastion of government in concealing its ineptitude in the control and management of the economy. These and many more yardsticks about gains or dividends of the growing economy are emphasized. Unemployment ranks higher than at any other time in the economy, indigenous participation in the economy is at the lowest ebb. Continual devaluation of the currency, which portends weak purchasing strength, is like a recurring decimal. Absolute dependence on impartation of its consumables is a head – ache and empowerment of her citizen and massive industrialization is virtually nonexistent. The bail – out or loans granted her by her friends are unreality to produce economic enslavement. It has always given the western world a great deal of dominance or ministration.

A great doom await Nigeria (and all Africa) if she doesn’t take a volte face on her policies. The western countries have plunged their European counterparts into recession by reneging on signed pacts and by instilling a pragmatic approach to individual nations of European union. If these policies have already had disastrous consequences on other western nations, how much more doom will now be foisted on the black world especially Nigeria. The powerless and helpless state of the ‘’too –big – to fail’’ nations is obvious. As loans or bail – out accorded the country during their now – past days of prosperity leaves each country scrambling to re – adjust, manage and fast – track their own economy. Nigeria must take a headline stand on some of the policies forcefully foisted on her if she is to undergo transformation and break the barriers of underdevelopment to fast track the much needed transformation her citizens aspires to.

Whenever it is proposed that a bait – out or loan is to be received by the third world countries, it should (under proper circumstances) be greeted with loud ovation, unfortunately, in this flawed world, this is instead the time for more economic servitude on the part of the recipient while it is a form of economic hegemony on the side of the guarantor. Bretton Woods institutions like He world bankard the international monetary fund (IMF) play the scripts of the western orthodox approach to economics, so that the phrase ‘’bail – out ‘’ actually means ‘’hegemony’’. For the past two decades and still counting, the world bank and the IMF have forced developing countries in creating conditions that are of immense benefits to west economically under a scheme known as the Structural Adjustment Programme(SAPS). For third world countries aspiring for development, the Bretton Wood institutions acts as a barricade against development. Bail outs would have been helpful to the third world countries, if there is no stringent conditions attached, unfortunately, of trade restrictions, privatization and removal of subsidies by government of the third world which further impoverished the masses and open up the economy of Nigeria for an unlimited trade and market. These stringent conditions in most cases are sinequanon for securing loans or relief. This means that bail – out are only a smoke screen for actual dominance by the west. (Bilbow. J. 2012) Since the amalgamation of the southern and northern protectorates by sir. Lord Lugard in 1914 till the 1960s, agriculture was the main stay of her economy. Nigeria was not indebted nor was it dependent on the west for bailout. The agrarian status of the Nigerian economy changed with the exploration of the oil discovered at a place called Oloibiri, Bayelsa state in 1957. These helped the government from growing broke as the sale of oil was instrumental in prosecuting a three year civil war without borrowing external aid. This feat of oil discovery with its exploration appeased to be a blessing initially but turned into a curse when during the oil glut of 1980, the comparative advantage she had in oil had waned.

Nigeria’s diminishing participation in agriculture and over – reliance on oil exploration for active or over – reliance caused the fall in the price of oil at the international market. This in turn, led to a balance of payment deficit in the 80s as revenue from oil had become the primary source for budgetary planning. Having established an over – sized, bloated government which of the embarked on white elephant projects, Nigeria couldn’t run her day today activities in balanced manner oil revenues fell from 42 percent in two years as the price of crude collapsed from $40.97 a barrel in December 1980 to $28.25 in March 1982. The search for foreign loan became inevitable. MuhammedBuhari, after overthrowing the Shagariadministration (based on the pretext of combating greed and corruption and righting the ailing economy), began an advanced negotiation on a proposed IMF bailout for the comatose economy. (FawoleW.A. 2003). Negotiations between the IMF and dis agreement on the conditions the tending institution attached to the loan facility. Dr. OnaolapoSoleye2009, the then finance minister, scrupulously per used the conditions attached to the loan facility, which were:- · Curtailment and review of public expenditures · Reduction of government subsidies · Stoppage of non – statutory i.e transfers such as loans to state government