Fashola also blamed the current recession on the past
government’s habit of giving handouts instead of investing in
infrastructure.
He made the comments while giving a
lecture titled “Leadership and the Politics of Reform in Africa:
Lessons from Nigeria” at the Wilson Centre in Washington D.C. on
Tuesday, September 20.
“In Nigeria, the choices
of yesterday make this winter a very harsh one for our people, because
we did not invest in the right things. Our government of yesterday
expressed its preference for providing ‘infrastructure of the stomach’,
giving handouts instead of real infrastructure,” Fashola said according to ThisDay.
“This
is how the seeds of today’s recession were sown. For those who say that
today’s government should stop talking about yesterday, with due
respect, I disagree. Yesterday will remain relevant in understanding
today in order to make choices that make tomorrow different and better.
“I
once used the allegory of the patient, and I think it deserves
repetition. If a patient complains about stomach pain, the first
question that the physician is likely to ask is: ‘What did you eat
yesterday?’
“The answer helps the
physician make a diagnosis and choose a prescription first to solve the
problem, and to recommend further dietary habits about what to eat and
what not to eat. This is what the current leadership is addressing.
“We
did not invest in roads, highways, bridges, schools and hospitals.
Money was taken out of the larger society and invested in private
accounts. The economy began to shrink, construction companies laid off
workers, who in turn lost income, which resulted in shrinking demand for
goods and services, and in turn led to national under-productivity.
“That
was what we ate yesterday. The stomach pain is comparable to symptoms
of bad dietary choices that manifest in the recession we now deal with.
The solution is to spend on infrastructure, which has started. The
recovery time is a function of what we can spend and how quickly it will
go round… If an arid area of land has not witnessed rainfall in two to
three years, you know what happens when the first rain falls. It
literally disappears into the ground.
“In
order to reach a point where any moisture is visible in the soil that
may support the germination of a seed to be planted, more rain water
needs to be injected. This is the best analogy I can offer for where our
national economy is. But I will conclude by saying I am optimistic that
we will turn things around,” he added.
No comments:
Post a Comment