By Obiotika Wilfred Toochukwu
Nigeria is a country where ‘anything goes’. Those in leadership positions rely on the impregnable defense from the office they occupy and the allowances of the immunity clause to perpetuate atrocities. Therefore, we have a ‘reign of impunity’ in Nigeria. As Nigerians wrestle one-on-one with poverty, getting up close and personal with hardship, the powers-that-be go toe-to-toe with the populace in squeezing life out of them through removal of subsidies, taxation and nepotistic appointments.
The middle class is completely eroded and it’s hard to find a family in that cadre that would comfortably gather once in a week on a table of tea, bread and butter with eggs. The stakes are incredibly high for the poor masses because there is no hope for a better Nigeria. Historical records show that Nigeria and her government have never provided a good, conducive environment for Foreign Direct Investments (FDI).
There’s the question of why is Africa still poor, is Africa isolated, do they not have equal opportunities? Ben Franklin was right to say: “In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes”. We could understand the statement from the state of African countries famous for poverty, corruption and ethnic cleansing.
High population of young people in Africa could have been utilized by African leaders but they keep making less and lesser efforts to become advanced. Taiwan had the experience of military dictatorship but it has become advanced with South Korea, Singapore unlike Brazil that stepped backwards. In “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership”, Dr. John Maxwell made us to understand that timing is an important aspect for leadership and decision making.
Advanced economies are identified when the GDP per capita is up to $20,000 annually. The economic reforms, policies and procedures for the APC-led Federal Government, plunged millions of hardworking citizens into poverty. Getting daily bread has gulped all the savings of struggling Nigerians.
The March 2026 deadline for N500 billions, N200 billions and N50 billions capitalization for deposit money banks in international, national and regional categories respectively would not stabilize financial situation of the country because there is a low score on the ‘Human Development Index (HDI). Brain drain is getting worse every day, making rich countries richer and poor countries poorer.
The interest rate is above 30% and the enabling environment for small businesses is not envisioned nor envisaged. The role of small businesses in the national economy cannot be overemphasized and SMEs are the engine room of advanced economies.
Through tax moratorium, incentives, good road network, electricity, communication, peace and security, the small businesses thrive and groom the economic growth. Barbing saloons, laundry services and mini-bakery jobs have all closed down due to overtaxation and cost of production.
When the Federal Government wants to share money (national cake slots) to cronies and party loyalists, they call it palliatives or grants which has never sprang up any form of development or economic growth. How would anyone choose to stay in Nigeria, when there are no advanced technical industries, better paying opportunities, well-functioning and fairly regulated market system. Labour Unions are pushing up for higher wages because of the government’s higher taxation.
Government needs a higher amount of money which has caused inflation. Everything about inflation has to do with the Monetary Policy. Presently, there are two different currencies for N1000, N500, N200 denomination notes which shows a good reason for inflation and there’s no output. The second law of thermodynamics provides basic physical truth on the law of entropy which can only be countered through negentropy.
Nigeria, due to leadership failure, moves towards disorder and decay. The poor masses are paying with their blood. The country is porous, volatile and violent. If a suicide bomber is not attacking worshippers, wedding guests in North East, or bandits shooting sporadically in Southern Kaduna, or unknown Gun men killing soldiers, policemen in the South East or it is Fulani-herders attacking agrarian community in Benue, North Central and the list goes on.
How do we expect that small businesses – groundnut sellers, peanuts, Chin Chin, tigernuts, photocopying, soyabeans,Moimoi etc will thrive when foreign multinationals could not survive? Absence of power and the electricity tariff hike led to the closure of 300 companies and 300,000 job losses under two months according to Manufacturers Association of Nigeria.
Thousands of jobs are gone, exacerbating the unemployment imbroglio. The teeming youths are left with nothing but to engage in crime and fraud. Milton Friedman in a 1970 essay for the New York Times titled: “A Friedman Doctrine” postulated that the Social Responsibility of Business is to increase its profits arguing that a company has no social responsibility to the public or society; its only responsibility is to its shareholders.
The Public Complaint Commission yearning for the Corporate Social Responsibility of some companies do not consider the business environment. Hunger, unemployment and suffering will certainly revolutionize the slavish minds of docile, supine Nigerians and make them willing for a revolt.
Obiotika Wilfred Toochukwu writes from St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Awgbu, Anambra State, Nigeria.
