Tumbo tumbo" is not an alternative to an integrated economic blueprint
The need for accountability and transparency make compelling case for treasury single account (TSA) in my view. Ordinarily I support TSA because I believe that absence of accountability and transparency lead to looting impunity. Looting impunity in turn deny the masses development resources and create Demi-gods whose best hard work credentials begin and end with unrestrained access to public funds. I make bold to state that not more that 5% of the top 100 billionaires in Nigeria made it without direct or indirect access to stolen public funds.
But there is more to economic management than just focusing on a single issue without consideration to related socio-economic fall outs.
Some time in August, a friend sent me a short message to the effect that the current federal government does not have an economic blueprint yet. He confided that consultants were currently being hired to generate some document that will serve the purpose of an economic blueprint, albeit it surreptitiously. When I called him up to understand how that can be possible given that we are just coming through with an intense presidential election campaign he mentioned someone we both know in USA as one of those working on the new document and concluded the conversation with "it appears APC was not prepared for government but only focused on using propaganda to snatch power from Jonathan".
Knowing that my friend is a Jonathan supporter I decided to file away the information in one corner of my brain and keep my eyes open to read corroborative information before running with the "gossip". Not more that 2 weeks after, CBN supplied the corroborative information through their post Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) report. According to the CBN, absence of fiscal policy guideline is hurting the economy and reversing economic growth. In the report CBN stated that ‘’the drivers of the current upward inflationary spiral were of a transient nature and mostly outside the direct control of monetary policy. Consequently, the opportunity for further policy manoeuvre remains largely constrained in the absence of supporting fiscal measures’’.
The bottom line is that an economic blueprint on the table would have helped to fashion out appropriate policy direction (including fiscal guidelines) that will drive economic activities even at the micro level. It's absence can only mean "tumbo tumbo economic management". That will surely frustrate professional managers of the economy, including the Folks at CBN.
In his address at ICAN's 50th anniversary celebration, Vice President Osibanjo alluded to an economic blueprint but betrayed it's non existence when he said that while some of the economic blueprint had already been put in place by the Buhari administration, including the bailout package for the workers in the country, others were currently being worked out. You either have a blueprint ready or you don't. In summary, the government is likely still developing an economic blueprint.
To further buttress the information from my friend, recently presidential spokesman Femi Adesina pointedly disowned the APC campaign leaflet that contained information that looked like extracts from an economic blueprint. He said APC leaders where promising whatever they wished without necessarily getting the buy in of the President during the campaigns. Of course if there was a blueprint endorsed by the President party leaders and publicists could rightly have extracted populists items from the plan and run with it. What Mr Adesina said amounted to confirming that APC and her supporters were engaged in political seduction and deception to get the votes of gullible Nigerians. There was no written plan on how to run the economy if they win. Sad!
Last week we read about the sack of thousands of commercial banks staff across the nation, ostensibly because the new TSA directive by the President is impacting on commercial banks revenue. Observers like me believe it is just the beginning and ultimately will spread to other areas of

Observers like me believe it is just the beginning and ultimately will spread to other areas of the economy. In no time telecommunication companies, manufacturing outfits and others will retrench too. The economy is interlinked in such a way that this outcome does not qualify to be a prediction. It is simply a reality waiting to manifest, if nothing is done urgently.
Banks lend to telecommunication companies and others from their short and long term deposits. With TSA they will lose a major chunk of their loanable funds, especially as many states gear up to copy from the Federal Government and implement TSA. The only way they can continue lending same volumes will be to draw from their shareholder funds. That is why many of them are keeping recapitalization as a survival option.
In effect we would have solved the need for transparency and accountability while also enlarging the coast of the twin monsters of unemployment and business failures. Unemployment leads to increase in crime rate and increase in crime leads to increased security spending and chase away investors. As a leader of a political party that promised 1.14 million new jobs, President Buhari will end up losing thousands of good jobs and may be later create "keke Napep commercial transport jobs". The gullible public will read about "100,000 new jobs created through Buhari regime's empowerment scheme" and clap for Sai Baba and APC. Do I need to state that one bank job is worth more than 100 keke Napep empowerment jobs? We will also later read: "America sells $10b arms to Nigeria to combat crimes" and we will clap some more.
The cycle continues: tumbo tumbo economic policy creating criminals out of our youths and we buy arms and ammunitions from America to kill our youths who helplessly engaged in crimes as

- From Adamu Abdullahi a Vanguard commentator

oya wailers food don dey ground!!!!

This is explosive..

zegbeye:
This is explosive..

That means book haram don dey vanguard because anything "explosive" is synonymous to terrorists these days...

Unfortunately, This the sad reality.

wakacome:
That means book haram don dey vanguard because anything "explosive" is synonymous to terrorists these days...

Abi ooo, the crash in the economy sef pass Boko haram bomb my guy

I didn't read the OP... Click like if you didn't, and share if you did

Gombs:
I didn't read the OP... Click like if you didn't, and share if you did

Dry...not everyone is intellectually lazy

Gombs:
I didn't read the OP... Click like if you didn't, and share if you did

Well I may have posted it but it is not my article and it is for great minds who are into Fiscal and Monetary policies of government to enlighten us the more. So relax because someone will break it down into kuli-kuli and akamu for you soon

Excellent piece.

The intent for good governance is not enough. Government must be run with a detailed plan in place; absence of same will result to planning to fail. We may end up plugging all the loopholes and saving trillions of Naira; we however have to ensure that the trillions do not become worthless by the time we wake up from this developmental lethargy/torpor.

PMB should enact the doctrine of multi-tasking. Appoint Ministers now and let key projects progress or commence while continuing with the fight against corruption!

Ozin:


Well I may have posted it but it is not my article and it is for great minds who are into Fiscal and Monetary policies of government to enlighten us the more. So relax because someone will break it down into kuli-kuli and akamu for you soon

OK sir

zegbeye:


Dry...not everyone is intellectually lazy

Can you put up a summary Mr Einstein?

Una good morning o! But you Nigerians were warned. Enjoy the change with no direction

Nigeria is wrecked. This is so unfortunate.

The greatest unfortunate date ever in nigeria history is March 28 2015!!!

Govt is a continuum and it is in disingenuous and uncharitable to suggest that the PMB administration has no economic blue print to work on. It is understandable if critics restrict themselves to examinining policy direction at the moment instead demanding for a policy bible.

For avoidance of doubt, the National Economic and Development Strategy which suffered an interregnum of corruption under GEJ is a frame of reference for the current administration.

Furthermore, President Buhari has insisted on operating the economy based on the constitution. Hence insistence on the STA. What people seem to be oblivious of is that the APC has adopted Every part of the constitution not just the STA clause hence the chapter 2 of 1999 Constitution provides a broad guideline for actions to be taken by all MDAs of govt going forward.

it will be recalled thatPMB directed the National Planning Commission to rejig the budget to reflect the above

Pursuant to the above, what you will see are policy directives in consonance with egalitarian principles of economic management.

it will be recalled thatPMB directed the National Planning Commission to rejig the budget to reflect a people oriented govt.

We also have to keep in mind that PMB is obligated to work with the Appropriation Act of 2015. And what can be done at the moment is damage control because the current direction of the economy is largely reinforced by an act of national assembly.

When you protect the economy only what you permit will come in for the benefit of the economy. pests will keep off and the economy will grow.


We can understand if literate people suffer partial alitracy due to years of dialectical abuses but it also puzzling to observe wiful denials of bold statement of purpose which PMB has kept faith with.

I agree with the writer that Nigeria needs fiscal policy direction. PMB needs to constitute his Economic Team ASAP, without further delay.

However, the fact that policy direction has not been communicated does not in itself mean lack of such policy. It is my belief that once the Cabinet and Economic Team are in place, we shall hear more about the policy direction of the administration.

All monies that accrue to the Federation through the TSA shall not remain in the TSA. They will eventually be spent on salaries, payment to contractors, shared to States through FAAC/JAAC, etc. So the money will eventually find its way back to the banking system. In the past, most of these monies just lay fallow in banks providing them with cheap Float.

Right now, the Federation will have a consolidated view of all its revenue, and hence plan and deploy these revenue for the benefit of all Nigerians rather than just heads of MDAs and their phony bankers. Initial job losses are a Collateral Damage for the Greater Good. With more revenue, government will have the capacity to create far more jobs than will be lost.

zegbeye:

Abi ooo, the crash in the economy sef pass Boko haram bomb my guy

just watch as d slave down south will try to adjust this news to mean a different thing

Tumbo Tumbo economic policies.......isorite

HMMM, HE THAT HAVE EAR LET HIM HEAR

TRUTHTOPOWER:
Govt is a continuum and it is in disingenuous and uncharitable to suggest that the PMB administration has no economic blue print to work on. It is understandable if critics restrict themselves to examinining policy direction at the moment instead demanding for a policy bible.

For avoidance of doubt, the National Economic and Development Strategy which suffered an interregnum of corruption under GEJ is a frame of reference for the current administration.

.

All over the world each government is expected to have its economic policies and it is not out of place to find out what the Economy blue print of the APC led government is. Where was Buhari dishing out all his campaign promises from.

The problem with you Buhari supporters is the inability to fault any of GEJ policies without mentioning the vague word corruption like Buhari himself. This is because it was used as a weapon of propaganda during the election,but people are becoming wiser. Investigate,arrest and prosecute GEJ if anything is found against him and stop boring our ears with this mantra.
The writer is simply saying, adopt a multi prongs aproach to governance and not sitting idly on the roof top with a public address system screaming corruption! corruption! ! corruption! !!

zegbeye:


All over the world each government is expected to have its economic policies and it is not out of place to find out what the Economy blue print of the APC led government is. Where was Buhari dishing out all his campaign promises from.

The problem with you Buhari supporters is the inability to fault any of GEJ policies without mentioning the vague word corruption like Buhari himself. This is because it was used as a weapon of propaganda during the election,but people are becoming wiser. Investigate,arrest and prosecute GEJ if anything is found against him and stop boring our ears with this mantra.
The writer is simply saying, adopt a multi prongs aproach to governance and not sitting idly on the roof top with a public address system screaming corruption! corruption! ! corruption! !!

Which single document whether hard copy or online contained GEJ Economic Blue Print.

Vague word corruption? it may be vague to GEJ devotees but the victims or casualties found it unmistakably disastrous!

TRUTHTOPOWER:


Which single document whether hard copy or online contained GEJ Economic Blue Print.

Vague word corruption? it may be vague to GEJ devotees but the victims or casualties found it unmistakably disastrous!

Of course we know when die hard propagandists of this aimless government are at work.The truth is you can not be twice lucky. You lots won by propaganda and lies and think you can sustain that through governance?...No way! tell your principal to as a matter of urgency get down to work because the wedding celebration is over and it is time for the marriage proper

wetin consain me, propaganda brought them in, na truth go pursue them comot.
Demdem say nigeria biggest economy na sham n na only for paper, say people no benefit, meanwhile for america less than 1percent of the population are billionaires n it has the biggest economy in the world, their citizens no comeout to publicly criticise n blackmail the govt even when 60percent of it citizens r being catered for by govt thru social welfare n community assisted programmes.
Thank God its tuesday.

zegbeye:


Of course we know when die hard propagandists of this aimless government are at work.The truth is you can not be twice lucky. You lots won by propaganda and lies and think you can sustain that through governance?...No way! tell your principal to as a matter of urgency get down to work because the wedding celebration is over and it is time for the marriage proper

Honestly, you made my day! you want blue print from a 3 month old govt and I told you where to look. I asked you for yours after sixteen year rule/misrule or of the last six years you started wailing! Get one from GEJ as an example of your wailing!