December 12, 2017

Let me begin by thanking God for bringing us to the end of the Year 2016. The last month of every year—December—is always replete with several joyful celebrations and activities.  A very significant celebration which takes place this month, especially for Christians, is the celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ at Christmas.  It is actually a celebration of God’s heavenly joy to the world; God became man in Jesus Christ, his Only-Begotten Son, for the purpose of saving the whole human race from eternal damnation. This joy was foretold by the prophets of old. Prophet Isaiah, for instance, says that “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light…You have enlarged the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at harvest time, as they exult when they are dividing the spoils” (Is. 9:1-2).  They rejoice because “…a son has been born for us, a son has been given to us, and dominion has been laid on his shoulders; and this is the name he has been given, ‘Wonder-Counsellor, Mighty-God, Eternal-Father, Prince-of-Peace…” (Is. 9:5-6). Although Scripture tells all Christians to rejoice always (1 Thess. 5:16), Christmas joy is unique because of the Incarnation—God took human flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14).  This is the meaning of Christmas: the whole human race sinned against God.  Humanity deserved to die eternally as a result of her sin.  The human race was powerless to free herself from sin and death.  However, God came to her rescue.  God, as it were, agreed to take away mankind’s sin and thus free mankind from death.  To this end, God sent his Son, the Word, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).  This is the joy Christians all over the world celebrate at Christmas—the joy of having been delivered from sin and eternal damnation; the joy of being saved through the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Given the on-going economic recession in Nigeria, can we categorically state that this Year’s Christmas celebration is a joyful one? How authentic or sincere is that joy, when human beings who are the true celebrants of Christmas joy are deprived of the basic necessities of life? How joyful is that Christmas celebration where majority of the workers, civil servants, and those who are “chief bread winners” of their families are not paid their salaries and allowances for almost a year?  If it is true that a “hungry man is an angry man,” how can one celebrate a joyful Christmas in hunger and starvation?  Indeed, many Nigerians have been starved to death, because there was practically nothing to eat, no food in the house, and there was no hope of getting food.

 

Recession is ordinarily defined as the movement backwards of something from a previous position.  Economic recession refers to a very difficult time for the economy of a country, where the latter experiences ‘backward movement’; this is particularly the case in a country where there is less trade and industrial activity than it should and where there is high rate of unemployment.

 

On the eleventh page of The Punch Newspaper of Wednesday, November 11, 2016, Alexander Okere, from Benin, reports Mr. President as saying that with the on-going recession, Nigerians are paying for past mistakes.  Under the caption “Recession: We’re paying for past mistakes,” Okere reports that:

“President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday blamed the harsh economic situation currently faced by Nigerians on the mistakes the country made in the past. Buhari noted that though the country was blessed with numerous resources, it allowed herself to be confined to a mono economy by paying too much attention on petroleum to the detriment of viable cash crops like cocoa, groundnut, palm oil, palm kernel and hides and skin…. ‘We are blessed with human and material resources.  We have made terrible mistakes in allowing ourselves to be cornered into a mono economy and we are now paying dearly for our mistakes. Nigeria saved the money from cocoa, palm oil, palm kernel, groundnut, hides and skin and even started the professional development of petroleum.  Once petroleum was discovered and developed in quantity, we threw everything to the dogs. Now, petroleum is diving from an average of $100 per barrel in the last 12 years to between $40 and $50 and we are paying for it. What have we done to our infrastructure—power, rail, road and social infrastructure, education and health? Just check and find out. We became very wasteful.’”

 

Mr. President, however, emphasized the necessity for all Nigerians to work together to revive the solid mineral sector and agriculture by way of proffering solution to the present recession.  According to him, “Now, we have to go back to the land, to solid minerals, and do a lot of savings so that we can leave a better country for our children and our grandchildren.”

 

From the above statement, it is clear that a mono-economy can never help Nigeria to solve her problems.  From its prefix, mono, which means one, a mono economy is the type that concentrates all her energy on developing only one sector of the economy, while all other sectors are neglected.  It is like a person pouring all his eggs into one basket or like a trader selling only one commodity or engaging in only one business, come rain come shine! Before the onset of the “oil boom” in the 70s, Nigeria had engaged in developing most of her sectors like the Manufacturing, Agricultural, Mining and Steel, etc. However, as soon as petroleum was discovered, these other sectors were neglected.  Consequently, the “oil boom” of the 70s has now become “oil doom” for Nigerians.  This is because, besides the fact that people were very reluctant going into developing other sectors, they were also wasteful. In summary, mono economy, wastefulness, laziness, materialism, unemployment, high interest rate, and lack of sacrifice are some of the factors responsible for the on-going economic recession.

 

What then can be done to ameliorate this ugly situation? The very first and major solution is economic diversification. A diversified economy is the direct opposite of a mono economy, because the former takes into consideration the development of all sectors of the economy.   Thus, with diversified economy, Nigeria will be able to eradicate poverty.  Countries like Uganda and Kenya already have diversified economies—they do not rely on mono economy like Nigeria that generates her main revenue from petrol.  With regard to diversification, Nigeria should hold the following sectors in high esteem, namely Agricultural, Manufacturing and Real Sectors, Mining Sector and other sectors of the economy such as healthcare, education, power, etc.

 

In an article entitled “Diversifying Nigeria’s Economy: Steady Progress Towards a Non-Oil Economy,” in The Nation’s  newspaper of Monday, October 31, 2016, p. 37, the Bankers Committee of Nigeria have been discussing how the economy of Nigeria can be revamped and sustained, through diversification, without concentrating all her attention on oil.  The article reports that various schemes are being developed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through the Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) to support agriculture. The DMBs promote economic growth, employment creation, import substitution and economic sustainability, among others.  In fact, the CBN has contributed over N1.7trn seed funding towards improving agriculture.  The government should continue to commit money to producing agricultural products like food crops, and especially cash crops which are mainly for export. Nigeria has very fertile land.  This should be used for agriculture; the government should desist from seizing rural community lands and selling them to the rich.   There should also be provision of fertilizer to improve crop production and other pest-control chemicals to be used by, especially rural farmers. The government should give loans to farmers and ensure that such loans are refunded with moderate interests within a specified period of time.

 

Manufacturing, Mining and Real sectors are great sources of income to Nigeria, if Mr. President can spend money on them. These sectors contribute significantly towards a non-oil reliant economy.  They include the textile industry in Kano, the Iron and Steel Industry in Ajaokuta, Kogi State, among others.  These will definitely reduce the rate of unemployment, in addition to boosting export. The government should reduce the rate of borrowing from external bodies, including World Bank.  She should spend money on infrastructure and creation of local industries in order to enhance or guarantee employment, rather than borrowing money at a high interest rate only to spend such money on mere consumption. The government should provide the unemployed with the opportunity of taking loans at low interest rates so as to encourage them to establish small scale businesses.  Civil servants who are above sixty years should retire to pave way for the younger ones.  This will drastically reduce the rate of unemployment.  On the fifty-second page of the Daily Trust of Thursday, November 3, 2016, Sanusi Lamido, former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria and the current Emir of Kano, encouraged that any borrowing by the federal government should be used to finance production, capital project and not spent on consumption.  He added that there was need for economic rebirth, which should begin with having integrity leaders. “Whatever policies the FG puts in place, the world will remain skeptical if there is no integrity.  The world will not come to our aid if our leader is not honest and incorruptible….Thus, admixture of good economic policies and leadership of integrity remains the way out of the current economic crises,” he stressed.

 

The Second Plenary Meeting of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) was held  at Domus Pacis Pastoral Centre, Igoba, Akure, Ondo State, from 8 to 16 September, 2016.  Reflecting on the state of the nation, on the second page of its communiqué, particularly with regard to the current economic recession in Nigeria, the Bishops said: “We note the efforts of the Nigerian government towards the growth of the nation’s economy. Yet, the economy has gone into a recession.  Many people have lost their jobs, and those who are fortunate to retain theirs are not adequately remunerated and some are not paid as and when due.  There is hunger in the land. We therefore urge the government to take proactive and practical steps towards reversing the recession.  As a result partly of the fall in the oil prices, it has become inevitable to, without further delay, diversify the economy, engender fiscal and monetary policies, stimulate and mobilize investments, and engage in a productive rather than a consumerist economy.  We advise the federal government to consider devolution of powers to create a healthy economic competition in the federating units.  We call on Nigerians to moderate their taste for foreign goods, reduce waste and be more prudent in expenditure. In the meantime, we expect the government to quickly evolve appropriate palliative measures and empower, by job creation, the teeming unemployed youth.”

 

Finally, I enjoin all Christians to rejoice greatly even in the midst of economic recession, because our heavenly joy does not depend on the availability of material things.  We must say with St. Paul that, “I know what it is to be in need and what it is to have more than enough.  I have learnt this secret, so that anywhere, at any time, I am content, whether I am full or hungry, whether I have too much or too little.  I have the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gives me” (Phil. 4:12-13).  Indeed, we must rejoice in the Lord who has made it possible for us to witness this year’s Christmas in good health of mind and body.  Although this year’s Christmas may not be materially enriching like those of yester-years, we must rejoice and, in fact, be generous to the abjectly poor among us.  Yes! This economic recession is an acid test of our generosity towards the needy, especially the poorest of the poor. If Christmas recalls or re-enacts God’s generous  offering of himself to humanity through his Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world, it follows that we, too, must reciprocate that generosity of God through the generosity we express to our neighbor, no matter the situation. Indeed, authentic generosity must go with pain.  “Give cheerfully, until it hurts” for “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor.9:7). Thus, celebrating Christmas amidst economic recession is still joyful, because the joy of those who have authentic faith in Christ does not depend on material acquisition.  Indeed, neither the paucity nor the superabundance of material things can detract from or increase the joy of authentic Christians.  This is because it is a heavenly joy. In any case, as Christians, let us continue to hope that the situation will soon change for the better.

By:  Rev. Fr. Mark Ajiga