UNCERTAIN PROMISES AS OIL PRICES DIVE LOW WITH NO HINT OF RISING: The two main candidates in the 14th February 2015 presidential elections are both making promises of the good things they intend to do for Nigerians if elected, but the promises will remain unfulfiled as Nigerias mono economy is hit by dwindling oil revenue due to a six year low drop in the price of crude oil. Nigerias Brent crude now trades below 50 dollars a barrel from a previous all time high of 147 dollars. There is no hope in sight for recovery as the USA, formerly a major crude buyer from Nigeria, has completely stopped buying from from the country a few months back. The glut in the oil market is being attributed to the USAs decision to exploit its huge deposit of Shale oil which has helped it to reduce dependence on imported crude by more than half. Added to that is the discovery of new oil fields by countries that hitherto depended on importation. The situation is made worse by he refusal of Saudi Arabia, the biggest exporter of crude oil in the world, to cut down production in order to reduce the glut now encouraging low pricing. With this development, Nigeria is entering 2015, an election year, with a huge budget deficit. That means money to be earned will be lower by not less than half of the money needed for her recurrent and capital commitments.And with poor internal revenue arrangements and receipts by all the tiers of govt, much money will have to be borrowed to meet those obligations. It is therefore curious that our politicians are continuously making huge promises during their campaigns without telling Nigerians how they intend to diversify the economy to magically replace the dwindling oil revenue within twelve months. One expected a cautious approach that takes into account these worrisome economic upheavals through honest appraisals and clearly spelt out road maps that address long-term plans within which Nigerians should expect difficult time. But here they are, promising 700,000 and 2.000 000 jobs respectively within a year! One needs not be a professor of economics to see the pitiable desperation in these campaigns. The bitter truth is that Nigerians must prepare themselves for hard times ahead. Therefore, in order to avert the 1984 experience when similar economic crises led to both cash crunch and hunger, our farmers must be encouraged and provided with enabling environment for the production of adequate food and cash crops. This is where, in the case of Benue and some states of central Nigeria, the issue of rampaging fulani herdsmen comes in. It is however sad that none of the campaigners has so far mentioned this second-to-boko haram criminality in their ongoing political rallies. The victims have to compel them to talk about this matter!
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 22:47:50 +0000
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