Alhaji Dangote may be peeved by the country’s economic management, but he is definitely not irrational or emotional. Indeed, what is beyond doubt so far, and flowing from the business tycoon’s observations, is that the Nigerian economy is not being managed
It has taken the weighty voice of business tycoon, Aliko Dangote, to remind the federal government of the need to look at both sides of the coin, particularly on the economy, before jumping to conclusions. In addition to reminding the government to constantly do cost-benefit analyses, he also gently cautions them over their simplistic interpretation of economic indicators.
Economic matters and statistics are not as straightforward as the government makes them, warned Alhaji Dangote. Though he did not speak directly to the land border closure, nor to rice importation, he zeroes in directly on the issue of import duties collection, describing the huge figure raked in by the government as heart-rending. “My heart bled when I read that Nigerian Customs collected N1.35trn import duties last year,” grieved the mogul. “It means the economy isn’t working.
For instance, having shut land borders for months on end, the government has not for once indicated how much the economy has lost by that action, almost as if there have been no losses. The government speaks to increase in duties collection but says nothing on the huge losses to manufacturing companies whose goods are traded on the West coast through land borders.
The overall conclusion of Alhaji Dangote is that the Nigerian economy is not working, citing for instance the huge losses some of his companies sustained in the past one year. Said he: “Government lost so much money last year in the traffic logjams of Apapa. Our three companies lost N30bn in profit. Which also means government will collect less tax from us. So, we need to look at infrastructure, we need to look at power because without power there won’t be growth.
with the breathtaking expertise the size of the economy demands. The government’s assumptions are simplistic, and they draw wrong inferences from economic indicators redirecting their attention elsewhere. There is also huge scepticism that anytime soon, the economy would come under the kind of management and coordination that would reassure investors, citizens and even economic planners.
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