I am fascinated with Wealth Creation… individual wealth creation is a vicarious responsibility of the individual but communal wealth creation is the direct responsibility of those in government. It is the responsibility of the government to help the people to create wealth…that’s why most Constitutions have the clause ‘the aim of the Government shall be the welfare of the People”! This is a universal law…
…not in Nigeria though… despite the obviously meaningless clause in the 1999 constitution of Nigeria.
The USA and the Peoples Republic of China shall continue to fascinate me in their governance and economic models. In both countries, the structure has been so established that the municipalities, and the states/regions have direct control over their governments and economies. And the federal government simply plays along. With this model, the people are able to achieve Wealth Creation with very minimal interferences from the federal government. The cities and the states now pull all stops to create city and regional champions in businesses… ongoing concerns.
What do the cities and the states/regional governments do?
They encourage smart people to establish businesses…from refineries, to factories, academic institutions or whatever. They deliberately help these firms to source markets and do whatever it takes to encourage the businesses. The value proposition they get in return are the lowered unemployment, wealth distribution, tax revenues and booming economies. As they do that, they develop their enclaves without the central governments!
May I inform you that during the development of these countries… through the Municipal and regional/state governments, there are little or no regulations? Aside some safety concerns, they deliberately allow these business concerns to grow immensely for decades before seeking to commence regulating them… often when they join the World Trade Organization. By then, the businesses would be too successful to fail! The Nigerian State doesn’t even allow us to properly establish businesses with their numerous insane policies!!!
The result is that these countries have accelerated development via the policy of not stifling the business environment with controls. And the firms simply thrive… attracting investments from all over. Anyone that could think, mobilize some funds and human resources simply becomes an entrepreneur. The regulations are so minimal that it would be unwise not to invest.
See? Smart, ugh?
Now, let’s talk about the Nigerian State!
The Nigerian federal government claims to desire investments, development and all. But they litter the whole place with so much regulations and stifling provisions that only the brave would dare venture into such an atrocious business jungle. Even those that invest and trying to make some sense out of a most senseless arrangement, the Nigerian State still tries to snuff the lives out of their modest efforts!
I couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time after studying the new provisions under CAMA… company and allied matters act, 2020. What the hell are these guys smoking? The business environment had been tough enough, but they even introduced far more stringent measures to further alienate investors. Who the hell does that?
We don’t have anything but the Nigerian State is over-regulating and killing businesses within the country! Go to the other countries in Africa and you’d find the same Nigerians with factories all over the place! And those governments are profiting from the insanity called Nigeria! Just ne’godu?
Maybe the Nigerian State doesn’t ask themselves why so many Nigerian businesses are spreading all over Africa while having next to no investments in their home country! Ain’t there anyone in government in Nigeria that’s capable of empirical thinking?
As if that’s not bad enough, the state governments act as if the federal government is an alien organization and do not question the insane policies of Abuja. Rather than seek to ameliorate the madness of federal policies, the states actually domesticate such absolute nonsense!
It’s bad enough that the 1999 constitution itself is a veritable business killer…via the Exclusive List, the federal government has muscled-out investments. With the numerous policies of centralization and over-regulation, the Nigerian State has absolutely discouraged investments. And rather than those comedians in the national assembly to put on thinking caps and question the model, they’re more concerned with the size of their allowances and how many girls the could bed in Abuja!
In Nigeria, there’s no scientific approach to governance. And there’s definitely NO understanding of Wealth Creation or development! The People be damned!
Do you still wonder why on the “Ease of doing business Index”, Nigeria is 177 out of 193? Nigeria is NOT competitive, that’s what!
My Dear Friends, the model forced upon us by the Nigerian State is beyond stupid! It is rather demoralizing that we seek foreign investments when not even the locals are encouraged to invest under an atmosphere of over-regulation and absolute lack of Economic Planning! It is the Unplanned Economy…and it is a dedication to misery!
Dear Friends, while we do not claim to be the best in policy-making, our little outfit could never be as unimaginative as the Nigerian State! The Nigerian State is beating the future of Nigerians into the ground! If we must participate in the 21st century, we must commence a scientific approach to governance and development! The current model didn’t work 50yrs ago, it’s not working now, and no matter the number of elections, parties or whatever, it would NEVER work!
Let’s all quit validating this nonsense; it’s not about the APC or the PDP! The model is wrong and useless! Let’s abandon this model and establish something saner! We must #restructureOrBurst this senseless structure, else we shall all continue to waste our time pretending to be running a country!
Baron Roy
