Buhari on the Economy

Awareness

The CPC Manifesto shows awareness of the global context in which any modern economy must be viewed. It overtly acknowledges the role that both the private and public sector have to play and if we include the preamble on prosperity, the document also acknowledges the role that human capital has to play in the economy. There are is also an awareness of the role of the financial sector and the role of agriculture that can be inferred from the policies put forward. However, these issues could have been explicitly discussed. There is also no reference made to the manufacturing sector or possibly new/green industries. No reference is made to key economic measure such as growth, trade deficit, inflation or interest rates. 

Ambition

The plan seeks to review the process of privatization – this on the one hand is ambitious given the interest groups that could potentially lose out but ultimately must be seen as necessary.  Post-2008 a review of the financial and banking system in any country in the world is also necessary and as such can it really be seen as ambitious? The need to diversify the Nigerian economy is well documented, again a potentially difficult task but surely must be seen as a requisite for moving forward.

Overall in terms of the economy, the manifesto does not shy away from any of the main issues plaguing the economy and so definitely cannot be seen as cautious. However, the plan lacks any intention to go beyond the necessary and so can’t be seen as ambitious either. That said the introduction of a micro-credit scheme can be seen as going beyond this

Detail

This section is very short on detail. While the policy points to be pursued are well outlined, there is no mention of what the review and re-evaluation of privatization would entail. The plan doesn’t say what reforms will be put in place in the banking sector and how this will broaden or diversify the wealth distribution. A micro-credit scheme is mentioned but it does not say if it will be state-run or privately run and how widely it will be implemented. The programme of diversification is laid out in very vague terms. In fact the whole section is laid out in very vague terms and in the entirety of the section on the economy there is not one single figure, target or date set against which performance of these policies can be measured.

My View

The preamble of the manifesto talks of liberalism and free market economics and that made me initially sceptical. After reading the section on the economy there is very little that is free-market about it. General Buhari’s manifesto is talking about public private partnerships and pension schemes etc. I think that if he addresses the core issues he seeks to address then this is a good plan, however with such little detail while he has come up with the ‘what’ he still probably has to come up with the how. In addition I am very sceptical of micro-finance particularly in the African context, there is research to show that repayment rates and the net impact are lower in Africa compared to the Indian sub-continent where the scheme first gained fame.

Personally I think in the 21^st century you can’t come up with an economic plan that doesn’t include a green aspect. Not only is it good for the environment, but green industries create more jobs and foster technological development. I would have also liked to see some reference made to economic management and fiscal responsibility or to inflation or to the problems of state borrowing. It leaves a lot to be desired

Scores (Out of 5)

Awareness: 2.0

Ambition: 2.5

Detail: 1

My View: 2.0