The Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the Centre for Transparency Advocacy, Dr Chima Amadi, has said economic remedies from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank cannot revive Nigeria’s economy.
He also said the policies may not be able to raise 200 million Nigerians out of poverty. He urged the country to look beyond ideas being imposed by developed countries, adding that developing countries should have the autonomy to choose policies that best suit their conditions.
Amadi, who made the submissions at the 4th National Colloquium in Sokoto, described the nation’s high inflation rate as indefensible. He said: “Compared with other African and Asian countries, especially Indonesia, which is comparable to Nigeria in most respects, economic development in Nigeria has been disappointing.
“With a GDP of about $45 billion in 2001 and per capita income of about $300 a year, Nigeria has become one of the poorest countries in the world. As of 2000, it had earned about $300 billion from oil exports since the mid-1970s, but its per capita income was 20 per cent lower than in 1975.
“Meanwhile, the country has become so heavily indebted that it has serious difficulty servicing debt. Regional and sectoral unevenness in growth performance is high.”
He said that based on the situation painted above, it is simply clear that to raise 200 million Nigerians out of poverty as this current administration has resolved to do within the next decade, “it would take more than just making it a campaign mantra but a radical departure from economic orthodoxy of the Global North evinced in the Washington Consensus model.”
Amadi, who is a Doctoral Fellow at the University of Warwick in the UK, said economic growth strategies recommended by developed countries for developing nations are unworkable.
According to him, developed countries have been promoting strategies, which they have never practiced. He added:” Historical Context of Development shows that many of today’s developed countries, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, achieved economic growth through strategies like tariffs, subsidies, and regulations to protect their nascent industries.
“This historical perspective contrasts sharply with the free-market, liberalisation policies they now promote for developing countries.
“The neoliberal policies advocated by institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), such as rapid liberalisation of trade and investment, privatisation, and deregulation – are not consistent with the historical experiences of successful development.”
“These policies might even hinder the growth of developing nations by exposing them prematurely to global competition.” He urged the Federal Government to adopt subsidies and other forms of intervention to save the economy.
He said that based on the situation painted above, it is simply clear that to raise 200 million Nigerians out of poverty as this current administration has resolved to do within the next decade, “it would take more than just making it a campaign mantra but a radical departure from economic orthodoxy of the Global North evinced in the Washington Consensus model.”
Amadi, who is a Doctoral Fellow at the University of Warwick in the UK, said economic growth strategies recommended by developed countries for developing nations are unworkable.
According to him, developed countries have been promoting strategies, which they have never practised. He added:” Historical Context of Development shows that many of today’s developed countries, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, achieved economic growth through strategies like tariffs, subsidies, and regulations to protect their nascent industries.
“This historical perspective contrasts sharply with the free-market, liberalization policies they now promote for developing countries.
“The neoliberal policies advocated by institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), such as rapid liberalization of trade and investment, privatisation, and deregulation – are not consistent with the historical experiences of successful development.”
“These policies might even hinder the growth of developing nations by exposing them prematurely to global competition.” He urged the Federal Government to adopt subsidies and other forms of intervention to save the economy.