AN ENVOY AND HIS WOEFUL MESSAGE OF MISERY: REASONS FOR DISAGREEMENT WITH MR INDERMIT GILL OF THE WORLD BANK: NOTES FOR CORRECTION By Prof. John Imonbhio Abhuere fnim
There are genuine reasons to disagree and to reject Gill’s woeful advice and seek alternative ways. They hinge on the need to protect our national interest. At the time the World Bank’s envoy came calling with his ill boding advice Nigeria was on bended knees as a result of the policies informed by the inappropriate ideology he was pushing for. Generally, his argument was grossly flawed, insensitive, unreasonable, not in tune with the lessons of history. The negative impacts of the shock therapies of the neo-liberal ideological approach on society are too well-known that we do not need to continue with the suffocating condition in the country. There are options that can lead to quicker and more lasting results. In this second part of my reflection on Mr Gills advice we shall elaborate on these and other factors to show why we should reject his advice. In a word it is against the interest of the common man in Nigeria.
QUESTION OF NATIONAL INTEREST OF SURVIVAL
Mr Gill’s advice is against the interest and well-being of the common citizens of Nigeria. It is a threat to the survival of Nigeria as one political entity. Without ameliorative measures or even change of policy direction, there is no way Nigeria can survive as one strong, united indivisible country upto another five years under the present harsh, barrenand unholy condition without crashing. The law of self preservation recommends the rejection of the advice of the world bank top worker.
As the Nigerian Labour Congress has observed the hardship of today in Nigeria emanates from the inputs of the world bank into policy making since May 2023.Consequently the present socio-economic foundation of the country has been extremely eroded and and weakened -made more so by the negative effect of the present economic policies of government informed by neo liberal values.
Already the citizens faith in the country has been waning fast. Their purchasing power has been severely weakened by current policies. Insecurity, hunger, joblessness etc have become their lot. More out frustration, some opinion leaders had started reminding us that the writ for the formation had expired, while some are proposing constitutional change say from the presidential to parliamentary system.
It is needless to say that all these are signs of elite’s self doubt and confusion, and instability of thepolity. Meanwhile, citizens had gone a nation wide strike in protest of extreme hardship and bad governance. It was costly and damaging and it is not the road the country should encouraged to travel again and again. Our fear is that a second of such devastating nation wide strike could put the country in great jeopardy and threaten our collective survival as a people.
Mr Gill ignores the obvious pains, agonies, dispiritedness of the populace and other signs that showed that the World Bank’s prescription was not working for Nigeria and went into unhelpful sophistry and diatribe to recommend a continuation of the old walk on the same path to perdition with the same cocktail of drugs that had proved so unhelpful to the Nigerian condition so far.
Rather than being practical, and responsive to local ailments, Mr Gill was cocky, essentially ideological in outlook and approach and grossly insensitive in his delivery. He was very wrong in his view that the current hardship was necessary to prevent the country from ruination in the end.
Fortunately we are old enough to be able to make a difference between what is wrong and what is right and ito reject poison no matter how beautifully coated.There are options to his chosen path.Contrary to his view a better deal for the country can be struck from other ideological approaches to nation building.
This is not the time to gamble with the destiny of the country any longer. any more .Enough of the pains of hardship due to wrong ideology o c development in Nigeria. The feeling of frustration and hopelessness is already too deep, and it would be too too deep and far more difficult to salvage in five to ten years time.
A new way to cultivate and promote meaningful development, rekindle hope, deepen belief and faith of the citizens in their country and strengthen the spirits of patriotism, nationalism and altruism among the citizens is urgently needed right now. As we have suggested, the right path to national development, unity and assured progress of the country is the mixed economy ideological approach- a hybrid of capitalism and socialism in action.
CONFLICT OF IDEAS & IDEOLOGIES
Mr Gill’s advice reflects the global conflict of ideas and ideolgies especially between the Western and Eastern part of the world. It gives an insight to the underlying problems of the country today- the prevalence of wrong ideology in Nigeria and the need to be very careful in accepting ideas from some quarters including the Bretton Woods institutions.
The entrenchment of the neo-liberal capitalist ideology witnessed the growing colony of men and women of low moral character in public life,the steady erosion of the spirits of patriotism, nationalism, altruism, equitable justice and idea of national unity from the country over time since 1947 when the Richards constitution was introduced with its regional structure. The message from the World Bank was bound to to deepen the ideological confusion and moral/ethical decadence in Nigeria.
A FLAWED ARGUMENT/MISFIRED SHOT -HUMAN BEINGS ARE NO EGGS THAT MUST BE BROKEN TO MAKE OMELET
Generally Mr Gill’s argument was heavily flawed.He misfired in his advice to the government of Nigeria to continue. with the same much hated market driven policy measures that had sentenced the country as it were to death awaiting execution till thy kingdom come.
Ignoring the lessons of history, empirical evidences, emerging facts, Gill’s argument fell far short of expectation in many respects. It failed to respond to the plights of the average citizens and to address the cause of their pains and sorrow.This makes his advice unhelpful because it was not speaking to real problems of the country.
It is unkind, suicidal and unacceptable to ask a people who were groaning in the face of an outbreak of an inferno caused by wrong decisions and action to continue in their ordeal as though their lives do not matter. It is wrong and against reason and rule of sensible practice to continue on the same old way. The right thing to do when you’re on the wrong road is to change course to the right way.
For instance when a doctor prescribes drugs to a patient in a hospital ward, he would make follow – up visits to observe patients and measure their progress or otherwise, review case and make necessary adjustments. For example if the patient is not making appreciable progress he would find alternative therapy to help improve the condition of the patient. But instead of doing this, proponents of pains and hardship remind us that to make an omelet, you have to break some eggs.
WHY THE EGG & OMELET ANALOGY WOULD NOT WORK?
It has been observed by proponents of the present ideological approach to nation building that had unleashed extreme pains and difficulties on the country, impoverished, unempowered, weakened and dispirited the majority citizens that that to make an omelet one has got to break an egg . Translated, this may mean that for meaningful development to take place tomorrow , due sacrifice must be made today.
To some extent there may be no much problem with such analogy on the surface except that man is not an egg which is an inanimate object that has no reasoning ability to react against injustice or resist hardship. In otherwords the major problem is that human beings including Nigerians are not eggs and thus can resist and reject ill treatment. Besides why follow the hard and wrong way when there better options.
Unlike the egg, the man is a creature imbued by the creator with reasoning faculty that enables him to think, react or resist actions he thinks inimical to his interest. He has feelings and can work away from trouble and work out options. The question is for how long would a man endure hardship he thinks unnecessary and inimical to his interest.
This is the question which Mr Gill did not give much consideration to. Another 6-12 months of hardship and pains could break the camel’s back. A year after the application of the world bank driven policies, it ought to be clear to anyone with good intentions that Nigeria is on life support machine that was not adding any value to its condition.
There is no doubt that Nigeria has been sick for some time now. Consequently Nigerians have been writhing in pains from the ailments and deadly effects of the fumes of the wild fire from the furnace of neo-liberal ideology.In a word by the time Mr Gill was making his infamous and wrong headed or ill motivated advice, majority citizens of Nigeria really down- low or downcast having been hard hit by the worst economic induced hardship ever in recent history.
It ought to be clear too the country needs to change its current course- move from the present path to a more fruitful one and confront its social and economic woes frontally. For instance she was in need of heavy state intervention to minimize insecurity, promote unemployment , check poverty, under-development etc to free the country from its current woes and make her a great nation state.
No one should really be surprised that the world bank driven or approved policies for economic reforms in Nigeria had produced perhaps the most excruciating pains ever in the polity within the last 20 or so years. It is characteristic of neo-liberal ideological approach to produce very awful results in many of the countries its shock -therapies had been applied. They have led to public protests.
Thanks to neo-liberal ideology Nigeria’s economic woes have worsened. For instance, the national currency – the Naira has been badly devalued especially in relation to the US dollar, there has been acute scarcity or shortage of goods and services, mass hunger or starvation, sprawling mass poverty, under development, economic and social hardship of extreme proportion, very weakened purchasing power, high rate of unemployment, nationwide insecurity. Nigeria was in hell on earth and tied as it were to the execution stakes on the road to Golgotha. Nigerians yearn for the gains of policies and not pains. She was in need of heavy fruitful intervention such as state intervention to solve idenfied problems that had held the country really down low.
BETTER OPTIONS
Another reason to reject the message of the world bank envoy is the awareness of the fact that there are far better options for Nigeria than the present approach. For instance the socialist, communist, mixed-economy approach. History is in deed rich of viable options.There are tested ways that are more suitable to Nigeria than the present neo-liberal driven development approach.
As indicated earlier, one of them is the mixed economy ideological approach which I have advocated for our dear for some time now. It is not new to Nigeria. It was the model in place before the military foisted the present neo-liberal market on the nation.Among others the mixed economic apprach allows the country to use all its resources including the state for nation building. There is nothing wrong with the state doing business in the national interest.
UNHELPFUL,WRONG PRESCRIPTION
Mr Gill might have been honest in leading us into the darker side of the heart of the world bank to know its true intention. He might be frank in telling us the truth that more difficult years lay ahead of the country- of course as result of the prevalent ideology of development but he goofed. He was unwise and untruthful in his advice which to me is unfair diatribe to justify a wrong proposal that had gone awful and wry for its extremely sour, harmful results.
Once more, it should be observed that all Nigerians are no babies not to know when to run away from an approaching ball of wild fire or conflagration. Or not to know the real cause of our problems today which as already observed is the prevalent ideology with its absurdities. And we know Nigeria- our country much better than he knows her.
Generally, Mr Gill’s advice is unhelpful to the cause of Nigeria and well-being of her citizens. It dampens and depresses the spirits and devoid of hope for a better future. It is therefore a wrong prescription for the country’ ailments. History shows that what has prescribed is not new. It has been applied in thecountry since the mid1980s without much success.
However, it was repackaged under a new name in the more recent history with very dim prospects of success too. The “new” ideological approach to nation building did not work because it was actually mere regurgitation, a rehash or mere repetition of what was the order of the day that failed in the past without any added value to make difference today.
Among others the results were mass hunger, economic and social difficulties etc that led to the open resentment of the citizens of government policies as anti human and their subsequent nationwide protests against them for producing extreme forms of hardship and bad governance in the country.
The effects or outcomes are in consonance with the law of nature which posits that one often reaps what one has sowed. For instance, you do plant thorns and expect to reap honey or sweet apples. For me the present ideology of development in Nigeria is akin to planting thorns in the gardens and expecting to harvest sweet apples.
A more perceptive person would have been more thoughtful and restrained in his thoughtless advice of soldiering on the wrong road for the next five or more years. But not so the the ideologically driven person- the ideologue.The negative implication of such advice for Nigeria should be obvious.In effect, it means that Nigerians would continue to wallow in hardship, difficulties, poverty, unemployment. hunger, Insecurity, instability. And there is no end in sight to hardship and suffering. It is senseless.
The advice was informed by an ideological belief and pursuit that is devoid of reason taken too far with all its soullessness. This is unwise, unhealthy and unacceptable. Policy making is for the living.Mr Gill’s proposal is like suicide plan for the country-through taking its deadly pills for a slow, painful death. It is a wrong and unhelpful prescription that will do the country no good. It should be rejected.
There is no need for it or for the country staying in the dungeon and groping in the dark continually for so long when in fact there are better other ways to get light and lead a better life. In otherwords, there is no need traveling on the road to he’ll, while there are assured path to paradise.
Both extreme ideological craziness and crass Ignorance were at work. Highly insensitive to local feelings and the current dismal living condition of majority citizens in Nigeria, Mr Gill’s endorsement of the current extremely harsh ecomnomic policy reforms for continuation in Nigeria betrays him as one with gross misunderstanding of the nature of the problem of the country.
He seems to take the effect or symptoms of a disease as its cause. Otherwise he should have known that the ideological path and values which he wants us to continue with are the real cause of Nigeria’s current difficulties and hardship. Consequently they cannot be the correct prescription for the cure of our national ailments.
Prof. Abhuere @ccydnigeria.com Centre for Child Care and Youth Development Nigeria Abuja.
