Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Bagudu, said some policy interventions were inevitable to put the economy on the right path and better the lives of citizens, even though such measures might face criticism in some quarters.
Bagudu spoke against the backdrop of accusations that the ongoing protests across the country against “bad governance” had been fuelled by unpopular policies undertaken by the present administration.
He entertained questions from journalists on the side-lines of the 2024 African Caucus Meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, with the theme, “Facilitating Intra-African Trade: Catalyst for Sustainable Economic Growth in Africa,” in Abuja at the weekend.
Bagudu did not say if the federal government would yield to some of the demands of the protesters, but assured that President Bola Tinubu had heard the concerns of Nigerians.
He insisted the administration’s policies were well thought out, and added that the government meant well for Nigerians.
But he said because of the enormity of the challenges Tinubu inherited, ongoing interventions would require some time to permeate the economy, and called for patience.
The minister said, “Some sacrifices are necessary, but like I repeatedly said, yes, even at that, you have to listen to your constituents.”
Bagudu said Tinubu should be commended for initiating the bold reforms that will eventually impact positively on the lives of Nigerians.
The minister also pointed out that the president had already demonstrated that he remained a listening president, who bothered about the concerns and wellbeing of citizens.
He said, “Let’s appreciate that we, as a people, chose democracy, constitutional democracy, and one of the hallmarks of democracy is the right of people to express different opinions and, certainly, we have seen that on display.
“The government took measures that it believed will yield a greater tomorrow but sometimes those measures come with costs, short-term costs and understandably some segments of society feel that maybe we should have done things differently or it has taken too long.”
He added, “We have listened. We are mindful. What it shows is that Nigeria is a mature democracy, where people can come out and say this is what we believe.
“We have seen different shades of opinion. Some say reverse the policies. Some say what we have done, we haven’t seen the gains as quickly as we thought we could.
“There are some also who have been able to say, no, no, look, let us also be careful because I can remember Bishop Matthew Kuka in a State House interview, when he visited Mr. President, and he was asked what his assessment was, and he said one year is too short to assess an administration.”
Bagudu also said, “Equally, when you are dealing with accumulated problems – we have invested in so many things in our national life and when a leader came and courageously said I want to take them on, it’s risky, it’s courageous, it’s bold but sometimes it can generate reactions.
“And what do I mean? We have underinvested for decades. Whether it is our security service, whether it is our infrastructure, whether it is our human capital, education, health, what you hear is lack of resources, lack of resources, lack of resources.
“And it’s true. Historically, there are lack of resources in all these. That is why our security is saying they don’t have all the equipment, they don’t have enough personnel, the infrastructure, every community wants a road or rail or something, but we don’t have all the money.”
Bagudu said Tinubu had decided to replicate his success story in Lagos, including his experience from global happenings to “deliver Nigeria of our dreams”.
He stated that the “pathway is occasionally laden with thorns and we are experiencing that. But we are grateful to Nigerians for expressing their views”.
He stressed that the current economic challenges were not peculiar to Nigeria.
Bagudu said, “Speaker after speaker in the caucus meeting can relate to what is happening in Nigeria because it’s almost an African problem.”
He said there had been a lot of engagements between the federal and state governments on the former’s policy direction.
The minister said a lot of programmes had been introduced to cushion the effects of the economic hardship.
He said, “We recognise that if we want to live the life of other countries with whom we are competing, we have to do things differently.
“If we want to provide housing, we have to have a mortgage sector that works, that can deliver houses. That’s why we have a mortgage fund to deliver. If we want our young ones, our manufacturing sector to blossom, we need to have a credit system. That’s why we created consumer credit.
“If we want to have a blossoming agricultural sector, that’s why we created the National Agricultural Development Fund.”
Bagudu added,” I heard the Mauritius Minister of Finance, who was saying how they took sugar cane to develop it to a point where they are producing ethanol from it and bio-oil. And that’s their path to development.
“So, the innovative programmes, student loans that have been introduced and financing schemes are catalytic.
“And the sub-nationals, especially with the local government autonomy reform, has further provided opportunity for them to keep.
“And I heard some of the statements from those who are expressing themselves on national television.
“Look, we want all types of government to do better. They are not just calling on the federal government. And again, that is good.
“There is nothing wrong for our younger ones and other Nigerians to tell us that, look, even if you think you are doing well, we heard you, but we can do better.”
Continuing he said, “That’s important in a democracy, especially for me, who is the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning.
“Our budget process allows people to come to the ministry, allows people to attend town hall meetings and participate in the budget making and say, this is how you should do this, or why can’t we try this.”
Asked if the federal government was willing to yield to some of the protesters’ demands, Bagudu said, “It’s just like the head of a household. You want your children; you want whoever you are taking care of to be happy with you. But sometimes responsible leadership includes telling children to go to school against their will.
“You don’t do that because you hate them. So, even for a politician to take actions that he’s not going to receive ovation, that tells you the kind of leader that person is.”
James Emejo
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