STABILIZATION POLICY AND THE NIGERIAN ECONOMY.

BY:

MUDASSIR ALIYU YUNUSA

mudassiray@gmail.com

     The four (4) macroeconomic goals in Nigeria are in serious crisis which requires crucial economic attention in order to offer solution and prevent the economy from recession as well as stabilizing the implication that might cause economic stagnation and backwardness in the country.  For any country to reveal improvement or to take a forward step on the trend of development, certainly it must have power to control its economy effectively and attain satisfaction in relation to the macro economic objectives which are:

·      To maintain a relative stability in the general price level in order to prevent the economy from inflationary or deflationary circumstances.

·      To maintain and provide a stable level of employment and reduces the level of unemployment at its natural rate.

·      To have a favourable/satisfactory Balance of Payment (BOP).

·      And, to maintain a high rate of economic growth which will eventually bring sustainable economic development.

     However, in Nigeria the deterioration of the above 4 goals of macroeconomic policy is responsible for the economic hardship the people are seriously facing. It is believed that this happened as a result of failure of our government to implement effectively the policy instruments to stabilize the economy of the country effectively.

     Nigeria as a matter of fact is blessed with abundance wealth capable of providing anything viable to assists in building the nation and compliment the economy towards the attainment of growth and development, but with all this the nation is still chained with abject poverty caused by higher income concentration in the hand of small group of people in the society. Unemployment and under capacity utilization hampered the production efficiency along side with over dependence on one commodity as a source of country’s revenue i.e. crude oil is the main source of revenue to the country neglecting other powerful and important economic sectors like agriculture, commerce and industry. Furthermore, the over dependence on foreign products which in some cases are substandard commodities are also among the factors responsible for the prevailing crises in the Balance of Payment which accelerates inflation in the economy. All these are bottlenecks that hampered the attainment of the four macroeconomic goals and it also served as significant predicaments that undermine the development of the country economically.

     As earlier highlighted, the economic problem of Nigeria is caused by inability of economic policy makers to employ the most appropriate economic stabilization tool or measure to revive and resolve any economic challenges that is displeasing the development of the country. To me, Fiscal and Monetary policy are the most powerful instruments capable of stabilizing the economic crisis of recession and save it from economic meltdown. So government needs to employ certain Fiscal and Monetary policy instruments to diagnose the immense problem of poverty, unemployment, inflation, unfavourable BOP etc.

     For instance, poverty is a state of being where one is highly incapacitated to provide himself with even the basic life requirement per day.  According to the United Nation (UN), it is a situation where one is living below $1(N159) per day; however in Nigeria by considering the serious economic hardship caused by high unemployment rate coupled with abnormal inflation rate even $2 (N318) will not be enough for an average Nigerian to cater for his/her basic needs on daily basis. Indeed, considerable number of Nigerians are in a state of hunger and starvation so much so that they are unable to think positively and come up with a new thing that may eventually lead to development of the country, you can believe in me if you see how people are desperately and blindly looking for any means that may guarantee their survival, and this no doubt is responsible for economic and social suffering the people are seriously facing.

     Unemployment in Nigeria is another alarming setback especially when people are qualified for the work and have willingness and the ability to do the work but are unable to secure the jobs in any sector of the economy, though unemployment must exist in any economy no matter how powerful it is (i.e Natural Rate of Unemployment), nevertheless, the one in Nigeria is artificial one that certainly could be reduced to the lower level by government.

     To accomplish these four goals of macroeconomic economy, there is need to have a favourable and a satisfactory Balance of Payment, which has to do with the relationship between the amount of money a nation spend abroad and the income it receives from other nation, it is otherwise or officially Known as the ‘Statement of International Transaction’. BOP is very important, it served as an indicator that shows up how powerful and how stable the economy is, it also affect the exchange rate of a country’s currency hence any economy that is aspiring for sustainable economic development and to escape from the trouble of currency devaluation should pay careful attention to its BOP.

     Moreso, in Nigeria to apprehend the economic problem the stabilization policies must be giving a greater priority in the sense that all the instruments of Fiscal and Monetary policy should be put in accordance with the proposed economic impediments to usher a solution by the government, for example, inflation is a serious problem and can be solved by applying any but appropriate policy prescription from both Fiscal and Monetary policy options suitable for confronting it, like Open market Operation(Monetary Policy) through contracting the money supply and decreasing the aggregate demand in the economy through the selling of government securities to the public. Or government can embark on contractionery/discretionary Fiscal policy in order to solve the problem of inflation. The application of proper stabilization tool by our government will provide jobs for our teaming unemployed youths, this will automatically correct BOP problem since provision of employment will increase income – saving – investment – productivity in the country, and as such economic growth and development will be attained.

     Therefore, owing to this, I am appealing to our dear government to apply and implement the stabilization policy tools effectively to the respective economic problems that our dear country is seriously facing in order to accomplish the four goals of macroeconomics which will eventually liberate our economy from the dangerous effect of economic depression. And hence sustainable development can be achieved.

MUDASSIR write from NTA Zonal Network Centre Maiduguri.

this article was published in ‘The Triumph’ in 2010

KANO HIGHER INSTITUTIONS; THE DETRIMENTALAND FRUITLESS STRIKE ACTION. A GAIN OR A LOSE?

BY:

MUDASSIR ALIYU YUNUSA.

mudassiray@gmail.com

     The academic sessional calander planned by state owned tertiary institutions of learning in Kano noticed a serious interruption as well as a great setback as a result of the fruitless, hapless, unnecessary and avoidable industrial action that lasted for almost a year which compounded a serious deterioration to the students and the stakeholders in tertiary institutions.

     The situation was highly lamentable as the strike hampered and creepled the normal school activities for a complete academic calendar as the session was hold into standstill, the strike also assist in creating a delay in accomplishing a given educational objectives particularly from the part of the students in the affected schools.

     It was believed by the union that the strike is unavoidable and served as the only weapon for attaining their demands and agreements made hence with the state government, but to be honest a 12 months strike is so tight by considering the damages it would bring to the students as well the development of education and research in the society. Quite alright the strike contributed immensely to the deform of the entire educational sector in the state as there was a serious hold up and delay in the process of graduating and admitting students in the cause of the strike. It also denied the outgoing HND graduate to participate in National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) because the school was closed denying NYSC to mobilize and post the student due for Service.

     Moreso, the strike also weaken the brain competence and strength as they (students) were at home for a complete year which instigated a tension and apprehension to the students because staying idle can lead to social pressure in the society.

     There is need to highlight the genesis of the strike and see who is to blame between the government and the union. Among the reasons for the strike are the issues of improvement of the staff salary scale, the need to provide more infrastructures in the schools, the issue of over taxing the staff by government e.t.c. initially the state government made an effort to resolve with the union through setting up the committee that would look into it but it proved very unsuccessful as the union persisted their action warts and all and made the strike to be highly irresistible.

2011 ELECTIONS IS AROUND THE CORNER;

WHOSE HEADS THE CROWNS WILL FIT?

BY:

MUDASSIR ALIYU YUNUSA

NTA ZARIA.

mudassiray@gmail.com

     In Nigeria most elections used to take place periodically after 4 years, this allows the citizens to have clear overview and assess the performance of democracy. It is almost a time toward the end of political tenure of the office holders elected in 2007; this became a mandate for the election governing body (INEC) to hold another fresh election this year (2011) at all tiers of government. As one of the features of democracy, election is the most important aspect that signifies the sustainability of democracy particularly in a country where military dominated the scenario of political leadership, like Nigeria, military were in power for 29 out of 50 years of independence.

     By definition, election is a legal way of choosing a leader through casting of vote by people or group of delegates vested with the power and authority to put in place and legitimizes somebody as a leader in a governmental or non governmental organisations. It is also a procedure that allows members of an organisation or community to choose somebody who will hold a position of authority to command and effect positive change within it. Election serves as a way of evaluating and assessing the viability of a political leader or the activities of the government by the citizens/electorates. The system of direct election is recognised and adopted in Nigeria where eligible people are allowed to conduct elections through casting of votes directly to a particular individual holding a flag of a registered party who is vying for a given political office. And on the other hand anybody who met the criteria and requirement for contesting should do so in as much as he or she is a bonafide citizen of Nigeria, in respect to this most of the people can meet up these criteria and become eligible but might not be credible enough for contesting a particular political office.

     Therefore, what the electorates should consider first is the credibility and competency of the candidate even though some politicians most of the time dedicate themselves to win a given political office/position no matter the danger involved in the process; the question here is that what is the wisdom behind this political devotion? Are they sacrificing their resources to impact their people and nation positively or are they doing it to satisfy their own selfish desire or their personal interests? The issue is that as we already learnt a lesson from political deception and bitterness during previous elections, so we now have better political awareness and education to observe what is right or wrong for us politically, socially and economically.

         What I am saying is that, the electorates should scrutinize any person aspiring or contesting for a given political office/position base on his/her previous records and acknowledge his/her credibility and accountability before giving out a single vote for him/her, let us look for the qualities and potentials that will benefit our society generally. At the same time we should also consider what the contenders will actually and positively do in return when they won and assumed office. The reason why I said this is because for long, some politicians had been deceiving people with their political sugar tongues full of  lies and false promises but their actual motives is self perpetuating and self building paying no heed to the yearnings and plight of their people and constituencies.

    As a matter of fact, if we want to salvage ourselves from the danger of endorsing bad leaders we must be conscious enough to detect the qualities of any person seeking for any political office. We must find out the political maturity that will be applied in fighting out the great enemies that bedevilled life of the people e.g. poverty, unemployment, corruption, ignorance and illiteracy.

   The electorates also need to know the motives of one for joining politics, and at the same time the electorates must ask and supply themselves with good answers to the following pre-election questions.

·      Are the contenders going to serve the public whole heartedly or are they going to serve their interest?

·      Do they have the zeal to fully participate in any legitimate activity that may guarantee human right and provide welfare to the electorates no matter the difficulties involved?

·      Do they have the desire for the development of masses and the nation generally?

·      Do they possess good ideology that can make them to endure any challenge that may undermine the development of their nation?

·      Among the contenders, who will be the right person through whom the citizens enjoy the dividend of democracy?

   These are very vital questions that we electorates should consider much and provide answers to because of their relevance to the political situation in the society.

   Therefore, in an attempt to sanitize the political scenario in our community we must know among the contenders who the crown of leadership will suitably fit. But some people especially the masses in most cases are just considering the economic strength of a politician where they use to casts their votes to any person who is giving out money or other materials in what I considered as political token or bribe called TSARI or SAITI in Hausa regardless of his/her social, moral and leadership qualities and commitments, which I am sure those politicians when elected and assumed power no doubt they must recover and compensate all the money they spent during campaigns, rallies or any other electioneering process, and at long last the masses who elected them would be treated ruthlessly and in many cases they were forced to became a beggars, housemaids, watchdogs and servants of the politicians despite what the electorates endures in long queues; the hot sun, rain, cold and hunger to vote them into their office.

   So my counsel to fellow electorates is that we should try to make a rational and commendable choice in the fourth coming April polls. It is high time now to stop fighting each other and concentrate on promoting proper values, good attitudes, characters and virtues that will help in building just and prosperous society and nation. Let us consider the responsibilities attached to any political office and endorse a person whom we know is equal to the tasks for our own benefit. Let us join our hands together, work together and endure all the pains of today for the gains of tomorrow, we should set aside and forget all our sentiments, sectionalisms, political differences and feelings to strive for good governance. Usually elections holds within a month and the tenure lasted for 4 years so is better to capture the chance in little time and get the benefit that will last for long time to come. Our goals, our aims and ambitions are attainable since we have the vote in our hands so we have the ability to bring positive changes which will eventually transform our nation to become an avenue where there is true freedom, justice and accountability.

    Moreso let us be conscious and have certainty so that whoever we vote will be trustworthy, compassionate and hardworking enough in serving us to the best of his/her ability. We must elect responsible and accountable leaders to direct our political affairs of our society or else we must provide ourselves with pain reliever that can mitigate the political tensions and stresses created by some ineffectual and deceitful politicians those we voted with our hands. Please let us not allow the vicious cycle of thuggery, manipulation, rigging, imposition of candidates, political blackmail, tyranny, oppression, human right deprivation through kidnapping and assassinations to continue in our pride nation.

     Finally, my hope to Nigeria is to conduct free, fair and credible elections comes April elections and my prayer is that each person elected would be suitable for the crown of leadership, very equal to the tasks and is ever ready to shoulders  the responsibilities attached to the office he/she is going to hold.

MUDASSIR writes from NTA Zaria channel 32.

HIV/AIDS IN OUR SOCIETY

 By:

MUDASSIR ALIYU YUNUSA (NTA ZARIA)

     AIDS is a deadly disease that has no cure up to present, it is the disease that leaves vulnerable to life threatening, it causes very harmful germ which broke the body immunity that is capable of depending any penetration of germ and virus into the body.

     HIV and AIDS are acronyms and the full meaning of the two words can be illustrated below:

H – Human,     I – Immunodeficiency,    V – Virus.

HIV is the virus that infects human being and causes a serious degeneration of the body immune system. While on the other hand AIDS mean

A – Acquired,   I – Immune, D – Deficiency, S - Syndrome.

   The disease could be found in large quantities in the blood, vaginal secretion and in breast milk of the nursing mother, and the primary modes of transmitting the disease are as follows:-

*         Sexual relations with an infected person.

§     Sharing needles and other sharp objects contaminated with infected blood.

§     Blood transfusions (transfer) from an infected person e.g. infected mother to her baby during pregnancy or childbirth or even through breast feeding.

     The ugly and the most dangerous mark of AIDS appear to be the worst end of our society especially the growing age people in Africa. This is because even in Nigeria alone the world wide burden of HIV/AIDS is about 8% which mostly found in our youth prevalence in the age group 15 – 24 years, it was also believed that the highest agent for transmitting the disease was through sexual relations mostly casual sex which has higher degree of infection on young women far than in young men. This was also disclosed by the ’11 population-based studies’ that the average rates in teenage girls were over five times higher than those in teenage boys

     The impacts of HIV/AIDS were already known clear to the people especially how it undermines the development of a given country socially, economically and politically.

     Among the social implications of HIV/AIDS includes falling in life expectancy, increasing the number of orphans as well as the destruction of family and community structures among others. In some African countries where just less than 10% of the adult population has HIV infection almost 80% of all deaths in young adults aged 25 – 45 are associated with HIV. This no doubt reduces the life expectancy indices of the inhabitant of that particular country.  And the premature death of half of the adult population, typically at the ages of when they have already started to form their standard families and have become economically active and productive, can be expected to have a radical effect on virtually every aspect of social life.

     The economic impact of HIV/AIDS in the society can be seen negatively by the way of reducing work force in the society that is the productive force of the society has now become hampered.

  However as long as there is low productive agent especially labour in various economic sectors like Agriculture, industry, transportation so the productivity will drastically fall paving the way through which poverty can be spread. By considering the nature of vicious cycle of poverty as low productivity – low income – low savings – low investment – under capacity utilisation of factor - unemployment of factor (labour) and the end result will be the absolute poverty.

The prevalence of the burden of HIV/AIDS affects the political activities of that particular country. Especially in the way of international and diplomatic relationship with other countries in the world. Certain privileges happen to escape from that country with high burden of HIV/AIDS. And as such deteriorate the political development of the country. 

      HIV/AIDS epidemic are already into its third decade and increasing prevalence of HIV infection in many areas of the world especially in Africa and Latin America. So for this reason a new effort have to be focused on ways of achieving HIV prevention and control. The preventive measure can be remembered by the acronym A, B, C, D, E, F, G……

A – Abstinence. This means not having any casual sex especially premarital sexual intercourse since even our religions does not allowed sex outside marriage. This is the most reliable way of self prevention of HIV/AIDS.

B - Being faithful to one uninfected sexual partner.

C – Correct and consistent use of condom if you must have sex.

D – Desist from sharing sharp instruments or objects with other people and don’t allow transfusion of unscreened blood or blood product.

E – Encourage testing before marriage or having an affair with your partner.

F – Free of humiliation by telling your partner your status.

G – Government should initiate a substantial support to the victim of HIV/AIDS by providing to them modern medicine that will make them to feel alright and make them to be part of proud citizens. This will make them to contribute their quota for the development of the country.

At this juncture I want to use this opportunity to warn and advise our people on the danger that is involved in the disease of HIV/AIDS we should abide by the rules as mentioned above to prevent ourselves from getting infected. And we should not run away from the positively infected people because they are part and parcel of us and they need our assistance all the time.