An Economist, Prof. Hassan Oaikhenan has urged the Federal Government to focus on the twin objectives of reversing the inflation and declining competitiveness of the naira to guarantee a prosperous 2025 for citizens.
Oaikhenan, who lectures in the Economics and Statistics Department, University of Benin said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Awka on Monday.
He said inflation control could be achieved by cutting down the cost of governance and addressing insecurity to enable farmers to return to their farms and increase food and agro input productivity.
According to him, all that needs to be done to put inflation rate in check and to have a competitive exchange rate is for the government to get its act right.
“Government should cut down on the cost of governance and also address the problem of insecurity so that those in the agricultural sector, especially peasant farmers who produce much of the food that is consumed internally can go back to their farms,” he said.
Oaikhenan, said competitive foreign exchange could be pursued through reviving domestic refineries to reduce the humongous amount of foreign exchange that is spent on the importation of refined petroleum products.
This, he said, when saved will impact beneficially on the exchange rate and possibly reduce the price of PMS.
“This is given the fact that the Nigerian economy is a petroleum-driven economy, and will have a far reaching positive ripple effect on the economy.
“These are certainly not issues that border on rocket science, they are common sense economics which is available to everybody including policy makers should pretend not to see and understand them,” he said.
Oaikhenan, a Development and International Economics expert, said, in the short run, the Federal Government should consider re-ordering its priorities with a view to easing the suffering of the citizens.
He said the policies of subsidy removal, floating of the foreign exchange market and increase in electricity tariff were responsible for the economic challenges of the economy.
According to him, “as good as the intentions were, Federal Government should appreciate their strangulating effects and show some compassion by relaxing or reviewing them.
“Rather than stick to its guns, rightly or wrongly, some of these policies which appear draconian should be rejigged with a view to bringing succor and relief to the citizens.
“For example, revisiting the astronomic increase in fuel price, considering its wide-ranging effect on the citizens and the entire economy can give us some quick wins because policies are measured by how they affect the welfare of the People.”(NAN)
