By Ayodele Oni
National leader of the All Progressives Congress,(APC) Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has observed that post COVID-19 revival of Nigeria’s economy should not be left for the Private Sector alone.
He pointed out that the Private Sector in Nigeria, at present, is too weak to spur the growth the country requires.
He was speaking on Saturday in Kaduna as Chairman of the 2021 Sardauna Annual Memorial Lecture.
The title of the lecture is “Reduction of the Cost of Governance for Inclusive Growth and Youth Development in Northern Nigeria In a Post- COVID-19 era.”
According to the former Lagos State Governor, “fiscal wisdom but not necessarily austerity is required for an economy like ours in a time like this, to ensure equitable wealth redistribution and meaningful use of resources.
“The years have shown that the private sector is much too weak to spur the growth we need. If the private sector could manage this feat, it would have already done so.
“Where the private sector is too weak or unable, the Government must fill the void.
“This means Government must not be afraid to embark on an activist fiscal policy to create jobs, build infrastructure and develop our industrial sector as well as continue to improve agriculture.
“This means Government must spend money, but spend it on those things that bring the requisite economic returns for the nation.
“The development of any populous nation has always been dependent on the ability of Government to allocate sufficient funds to projects and programs that create and encourage enduring growth and employment.
“We must reject that mode of thinking that assumes government expenditure is inherently unproductive as well as harmful to the overall economy.
“Here, one must make the point about the urgency of the need to think outside of the box in finding solutions to the challenges posed by our unemployed youth.
“Because of the currency issuing power of the federal Government, it is not bound to balance budgets like individuals and state governments are. Moreover, because of this currency power, federal expenditures are not constrained by federal tax or revenue intake.
“Just as importantly, what I advocate is something that can be applied to both the common and unique developmental challenges of the north and south so that the nation moves in unison without any group or region feeling left out or estranged from national progress.
“Thus, while states and local government must shape their budgets to fit their revenues, the federal government can and should spend more to create more jobs for the youth in both the north and south which is key to eradicating restiveness and sundry criminality among the youth.
“Take a look at the world. Those nations that recovered most quickly from the 2009 economic crisis and now from COVID-19 are those nations that most engaged in government stimulus spending to revive their flagging economies.
“This was not by accident. It is due to purposeful policy and the deeper understanding of the nature of money and a the role of a national government in saving a flagging economy.”
