In Support of Creative Capitalism – By Arnold A. Alalibo

Posted by admin Arnold Alalibo, Articles, Columnists, NNP Columnists Saturday, November 24th, 2012

By Arnold A. Alalibo / NNP / Nov. 24, 2012– Is Nigeria a failed state? The answer could be yes or no depending on the angle it is viewed from. But the country could fail if drastic actions are not taken urgently to address its problems. Our country really has problems of peculiar magnitude. For instance, take a look at the hypocrisy of our leaders, who find comfort in passing laws, which they have no intention to obey or enforce. For example, some governments have enacted employment laws in their states while others have
gone a step further to establish employment ministries, yet not a single job has been created. More than 50 percent of able-bodied Nigerians are either unemployed or grossly under-employed.
This country has been in crises for some years, be it economic, social or even security, but the government has been unable to respond to them effectively. For quite some time now, the nation has been
witnessing a monumental closure of industries, yet those at the helm of the nation’s affairs have not deemed it fit to respond to the situation swiftly since they think they can do without the common Nigerian in running their bureaucracy daily.

Why have we not heard the voices of our leaders or representatives both at the state and national levels on the massive closure of
factories and the resultant unemployment that follows? Are they waiting for Nigerian youths to shout hoax about the unbearable economic situation in the country?

The current poverty level that ravages Nigeria permeates most African countries and indeed the continent. Between 2005 and now, for instance, the number of the poor in Africa doubled, despite the fact that since the end of the Cold War, the global economy has effectively raised millions of people around the world out of poverty. Sadly, the number of those bailed out of poverty indicates that those of us in Africa are not part of the good news because the number of the poor keeps increasing appreciably instead.

As a result of the alarming downturn of the economies of most African nations occasioned by profligacy and political irresponsibility, most donor countries have recently begun to resist demands in aid to Africa
with the excuse of a “Western malady” which is known as “aid fatigue.” This suggests that the condition of poverty in Africa defies any curative intervention. Africa is just becoming in the minds of all, a bottomless pit. This is one source of the so-called Afro-pessimism, the view held among donors that Africa is a basket case, and beyond repair. Be it as it may, poverty is a global phenomenon. The reason
billions of people around the world are found in the bottom of the economic pyramid is that the rest of the world think very little of the poor. The poor are only seen as victims, people who are only fit for occasional philanthropy.

It is for this reason I support the “creative capitalism” model propounded by Bill gate, founder of Microsoft Corporation, which
emphasises the need for companies to be driven by not just profit alone, but by compassion for the poor. We can adopt this model in our nation. One way to do that is for the National Economic Team to set up a sub-committee to study investment opportunities among the poor. The global economic situation should inspire us to look inwards and identify areas where we have comparative advantage. I think agricultural input could do a lot more for our economy if only our government can pay adequate attention to it and make the subsidy of fertilizers to farmers more effective. It is much cheaper to subsidise fertilizer to avoid food crisis than to improve food or have food aid from else where.

Also, adequate attention should equally be paid to housing, water, education, sanitation and unemployment. Education is particularly important because the more educated a person is the more likely he is to take care of his health and be self-employed as well. Unfortunately, no infrastructure or services is in adequate supply in this country. The development has completely eroded Nigerians confidence in their leaders. The future looks very black. No one should be afraid of it
anymore, because we are all in trouble. Nothing can trouble us more. There is no greater pain that we can experience in the course of fighting than the consequences of watching our children inherit a life that has no future. A life that is devoid of hope.

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