The pitiable ignoramus of a governor of Benue State of Nigeria decries “the economic crisis in the country” brought about by “the reduction in crude oil prices”. And goes further to predict the failure and grounding of many state governments should the economic and financial crunch in Nigeria persist. You ought to have seen it coming.
Well! My man, you ain’t seen nothing yet, in a country whose economy is completely and totally dependent on the extraction of crude oil – a depletable resource, whose price for that matter is susceptible to the vagaries of global economic conditions – to the exclusion of every other economic endeavour, pursuit and enterprise.
It is a sad commentary that of all the 36 states of Nigeria, perhaps only 3 can be said to be economically viable. The rest are wholly and completely reliant on the so called federal allocation of funds from crude oil revenue to be able to meet their balance of payment obligations.
Just like the “geographical expression” called Nigeria was forged purely for the British colonial administrative convenience; Nigeria was carved into these unfeasible states for nothing but rapacious reasons.
Once upon a time, there were regions in Nigeria that were variously productive and rich, with: palm oil and palm kernel in the East; natural rubber in the Midwest; cocoa in the West; groundnut and beanie seed in the North; and crude oil in the South. With the exception of crude oil, all the other primary products have been neglected and abandoned to extinction.
History keeps repeating itself because no one learns from the lessons it teaches. There was a period in History when the population of Ireland nearly got wiped out because potato, the only crop their economy heavily relied on suffered crippling failure for some years.
In secondary school geography we learnt the severe adverse effects of monoculture as was practiced in Ghana in those days. Its agricultural economy was heavily reliant on cocoa. And when the crop inevitably suffered blight for a number of years, the country’s economy took a precipitous nose dive, and the people of Ghana suffered untold hardship.
In spite of your lamentations, Mr. Governor, the world crude oil prices are poised for a continued downward spiral for the foreseeable future. And here are the reasons, according to The Brookings Institute:
• Slowing global economic growth the regions of Asia;
• Rising global oil production, especially in Canada and USA;
• Unexpected oil production in Libya, South Sudan, and Iraq;
• Increasing energy efficiency – impacts long-term global demand;
• Record oil output from Russia;
• Surging natural and hydrocarbon gas, exogenous to OPEC system;
• Natural gas eating away oil’s market share as fuel;
• Japan’s decision to restart its nuclear reactors;
• Dumping of oil onto the market by hedge fund managers.
There is no respite in sight, Mr. Governor. You and your mal-governors of Nigeria should have had the foresight to diversify the Nigerian economy, and you would not be in this predicament now. –Chukwuemeka Obiajunwa-

Economic crisis: Many states will shut down next year —Gov. Suswam; By News Express on 23/11/2014
Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State has cried out that if the economic downturn in the country continues unabated, there is the possibility many state governments will shut down next year.
The governor who spoke through his media aide, James Uloko decried the economic crisis in the country, particularly, the reduction in the crude oil prices, stating, ‘if the crisis continues, I’m sure so many states will be grounded next year’.
The governor who was reacting to non payment of workers’ salaries in the state cited the October allocation to buttress his argument, stressing that the wage bill of state workers stands at over N3 billion while the October allocation was N2.7 billion. He asked; “where do we make up the difference?”
While acknowledging that the issue of salary was not peculiar to the state, Suswam said something drastic has to be done, calling on workers to understand the station.
On the purported report that he may likely dump the PDP, as a result of the automatic ticket granted serving senators. He denied such plans, noting that he had already been screened to contest the senatorial seat for Benue North-East district. He posited that if the country is practicing true democracy, then the issue of automatic ticket is a complete variance to the tenets of democracy.
He noted that President Jonathan as a true democrat would not indulge in such act of granting automatic ticket to anyone, adding that he has undergone successful screening and is ready to go into the primaries against his opponent, Sen. Barnabas Gemade.
•Source: Sunday Tribune. Photo shows Governor Suswam.
Source News Express
Posted 23/11/2014 12:43:35 AM