2. Combative push to integrate Nigeria’s economy with cryptocurrency: VP Osinbajo made a shocking statement in February 2021 around the subject of cryptocurrency. As usual, he got plaudits from the unknowing, uncaring crowd of fast-money chasers who have little or no belief in their country or in the dignity of labour. The Central Bank of Nigeria had – like all other central banks – re-instructed local banks not to entertain cryptocurrency transactions in view of their tendency to aid the masking of corruption, criminal, and generally black money, and the fact that well, that category of pseudo assets is expected to cause the next global financial crisis. Through the pandemic, Nigeria was reported to be the second highest trading country in the world in terms of cryptocurrency – a news that was shocking itself given our very low per capita income. The CBN has gone on to create its own eNaira (which could be further developed and integrated to achieve flexibility), but Osinbajo at that time stated: “Rather than adopt a policy that prohibits cryptocurrency operations in the Nigerian banking sector, we must act with knowledge and not fear and develop a robust regulatory regime that is thoughtful and knowledge-based… There is a role for regulation here, and it is in the place of both our monetary authorities and SEC to provide a robust regulatory regime that addresses these serious concerns without killing the goose that might lay the golden eggs.”
I really do not know what golden eggs Mr Osinbajo was referring to here, given that the usual volatility that CBN and other central banks feared about cryptocurrencies has turned out to be the reality. From the time that he spoke and almost forced CBN’s hand to integrate our economy with cryptocurrencies the crypto market has fallen by 55 per cent on the average.
3. Neglect of Nigeria’s youth and failure to rescue them from allure of fast money: I personally cannot forgive Osinbajo for neglecting our youths to their devices despite being a pastor. Instead of trying to slow them down in this new, mad quest to make money by all means and fast, by preaching dignity of labour, he appeared to have preferred adding petrol to their quests. He has been on a pursuit of unicorns – many of which, with the Flutterwave story, are turning out to be mere cowboys, or as David Hundeyin recently reported “corporate yahoo-boys”. The South West where he and I are from, have been overrun with ritualist yahoo-yahoo boys and girls into mass prostitution. He seems totally unconcerned.
4. Continuous pursuit of a wasted ease-of-doing–business index: The World Bank developed something called the Ease of Doing Business Report. There are five things the index measures which have no usefulness to our local businesses which should be our focus. Those five factors this index measured which I think are nonsense, include; ease of acquiring property (very few business need to bother about this before starting up), protection of minority interest (this is far-flung in my view), ease of paying taxes (I don’t see how this stops someone from doing business), ease of cross boarded trade (in this information age I don’t see how this is central to the growth of local businesses in the main), and resolving insolvency (imagine that someone will be thinking of insolvency when you are starting out in business). I even questioned another of the factors it measured – ease of obtaining construction permits, because very few businesses have to construct from the scratch these days of adaptable production. The World Bank since abandoned the index but Nigeria has a big office for it.
5. Unaccounted Tradermoni project: Regarding this one, I would like to cut the VP a slack. I believe he was merely doing the job he was sent to do. I’m hoping his office did not come up with the concept. Because even though I am a bit left of centre in economic leaning and I understand that our people need to be sometimes rescued or incentivised, I would have preferred a social transfer programme that encourages our people to say, pick up trash in the environment for money. Or that they should plant trees. But the Tradermoni and Marketmoni schemes I understand were unaccounted for. We have not heard of any repayment and I understand that the government did not get anyone’s data, that it ended up as mere gimmick to win the last elections. As a senior lawyer, pastor and professor, the VP should have never been associated with such a scheme that will have people asking questions. Never! He will have to answer for these in future. Many reports are out there alleging frauds in the scheme worth several billions.
6. Failure to think of balancing his team alog religious lines: Farooq Kperogi, the enfant terrible professor of Nigerian origin based in the USA managed to nail the VP on this. I initially ignored the allegations as one of Farooq’s sometimes emotional outbursts. But I then read the article and the allegations were stark. The VP’s office released a pathetic video where all the Muslim staff associated with him – past and present – spoke. I found out that the VP apparently never thought of the balance of staff in his team. I think he may have mirrored his oga whose only appointments are from among his old friends and their children. However, how can VP Osinbajo seek to govern Nigeria with such a limited scope? We cannot have another Buhari in this respect. The next government should be a unity government to save the soul of this nation.
7. Non-solidarity with Kaduna kidnapped: As we speak, there are 167 Nigerians – all of them innocent – with kidnappers. It looks like they have been left on their own to deal with the kidnappers. The incidence of the train bombing, in my view, is worse than what happened in Chibok, on the back of which the Buhari government rode in in 2015, all the while excoriating Goodluck Jonathan. In the Kaduna bombing and kidnapping, the boys who stormed the trains killed eight people point blank, indiscriminately and in cold blood. They killed Christians and Muslims alike, men and women alike. They took children into captivity. As at the time of this writing, they have been about 30 days in captivity. The longer they stay there, the less their chances of returning because those doped out boys will start using them for target practice. In all these, I have not heard a word from President Buhari apart from the usual tosh manufactured by his spokesmen. The VP visited the scene the day after, but in his declaration speech, it was as if nothing happened. How he declared just a few days after such incident baffled me, given that Rotimi Amaechi accused the VP of stepping down the memo for the purchase of surveillance techniques which could have saved the eight wounded, 26 injured and 167 kidnapped victims. Rotimi himself declared even quicker than Osinbajo, and no mention of the incident was made. No remorse was expressed. Not even a minute’s silence for the dead was observed at both Amaechi and Osinbajo declarations. Concluded
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