During exam periods, students study to pass. While some students study to pass, others relax because they are friends to the examiner. Also, some lecturers attach payments for handouts, projects and ‘sorting’ as conditions for passing their exams. Since people can pass without studying, the system will discourage studying hard as a condition for success. Likewise, if it is possible or easier for people to get wealth without contributing directly or indirectly to local productivity, the system will discourage local productivity. So, the hype of buying Nigerian to grow the naira, without supporting policies for local technical productivity is hypocritical.
Some government officials emphasize the need for buying Nigerian made products in order to increase the naira value.[1] While parading the idea of buying Nigerian to grow the naira, they mainly patronize foreign products. They spend on foreign hospitals, schools, vacations, wears, foods, perfumes, estates, and vehicles without supporting local productivity. Such malpractice rises from a country’s pattern of generating and disbursing funds: ‘if a country generates funds from taxing the people’s productivity, local productivity grows. But if it generates funds by seizing and exporting the resources that people need for production, local productivity dies’.
Real wealth is created by applying scientific knowledge on agricultural products and mineral resources to produce useful items[2] like food, clothes, houses, vehicles, factories, tools, schools, books, gadgets, and churches.[3] While agricultural products serve more in quick-perishable products, mineral resources serve in more durable products and machines for further productivity.
So, central banks create money by making loans for people who already have credits as potentials to create wealth or support wealth-creation. “Credit is something a man already has… marketable assets of a greater cash value than the loan for which he is asking”[4] like land, resources, innovative ideas or career.[5] The loans enable credit-owners to gather labour and resources for developing products or services for profit. By giving loans to many citizens with potentials (credits) for creating wealth, central banks enable local productivity and industrialization. Then productive citizens compete to employ people to produce and trade their goods and services.
Creative ideas and labour can only become credits when they have resources to show their ability to create wealth. But when a government seizes and sells the resources people need for creating wealth, it transfers the credit for locally creating wealth to credit for importing and distributing foreign goods. Then, the government will need to pay people to suppress, blame or distract[6] the people who are denied production credits. Thus, people will mainly get loans for importing and distributing foreign goods for the few government’s direct and indirect assistants. Then the remaining people, without government connection, are urged to survive as artisans depending on manual agriculture and crafts.
This is what happens in Nigeria and many other African countries following the colonial imposition of indirect rule on different unconsented peoples for using some groups to exploit others.
“The scanty social services (and foreign products) were meant only to facilitate exploitation, they were not given to any Africans whose labour was not directly producing surplus for export to Europe.”[7]
If government assistants don’t get funds from seized resources to purchase foreign products, they will be forced to produce and trade items within. But as long as there is easy fund from exporting seized resources, there will be no intrinsic compulsion for local productivity. Then, buying Nigerian to grow the naira will remain a false parade for those without government connection.
A true naira growth may not happen until there is a social reorganization for people to earn by creating wealth, instead of depending on seized resource revenue to buy foreign products. Some steps in this reorganization may include:
- Conduct a research to recognize the different peoples and their lands, instead of holding to the colonial idea of an alien government ownership of all lands and resources.[8]
- Organize intercommunal conferences within districts towards a national conference for these different peoples to agree on their partnership style. Thus, constitutional decisions and laws will reflect the people’s beliefs and agreement for a better partnership and technologically productive collaboration.
- Invite specialists to train people to refine their resources for further industrial production. Hence, people can work to specialise in producing more of whatever natural resources they have.
- Release the people’s onshore resources for industrial productivity and eventual tax-payment to the central governments. This will motivate the government to support people’s productivity for better tax-returns.A productive people with active industries will generate enough raw and semi-processed materials for local and foreign entrepreneurs’ higher production and distribution. They will also be able to afford the goods and services from the entrepreneurs as viable demands.[9]
- Create low-interest loans for people with credits as potentials for creating wealth, for people who show their insurance schemes and finance planners to check reckless spending and ventures.
- Make policies for employing available Nigerian skilled labour first before other nationals when there are no qualified Nigerians for the job.
- Use offshore resource-funds to compliment whatever is needed within.
[1] Adewale Sogunro, “Senator Murray-Bruce: purchasing Nigerian goods to build Nigeria” in PremiumTimes, February 29, 2016. https://opinion.premiumtimesng.com/2016/02/29/171434-2/ retrieved 24th November, 2019.
[2] Walter Rodney, How Europe underdeveloped Africa, 2009 edition (Abuja: Panaf press, 2009) p.318
[3] Henry Hazlitt, Economics in one lesson (New York: Pocket books, Inc. 1946) p.149
[4] Henry Hazlitt, Economics in one lesson (New York: Pocket books, Inc. 1946) p.31
[5] Ibid
[6] While the armed forces suppress the people, religious groups, academicians and entertainers distract them
[7] Walter Rodney, op. cit. p.250
[8] Chukwunwike Enekwechi, “The social research for a new Nigeria” in Restartnaija June 5, 2018. https://restartnaija.com/2018/06/05/social-research-new-consented-nigeria/ retrieved 22nd July, 2018
[9] Chukwunwike Enekwechi, “Protecting Nigeria from foreign exchange manipulation” Ibid