The cost of crude oil, which is Nigeria's main revenue earner, has been steadily declining in the world market. As of today (26/10/2015), a barrel of WTI Crude Oil is selling at $44.60 per barrel, while the Brent Crude Oil is selling at $47.99 (See atached graph). This issue of terminal decline of the cost of
crude oil in the world market is a matter of grave concern that will affect everything we do in Nigeria, unless urgent actions are taken at federal, state, and local government levels to mitigate the situation. Governance, economic prosperity, infrastructural development, and security will all be affected.
His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, has called for the diversification of the Nigerian economy since the very day we was inaugurated into office. This clarion call for economic diversification is something that all Nigerians must take very seriously. Besides any actions taken by the Federal Government to enhance our capacity for Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), our 36 state governments along with their respective local governments must also play their parts.
So far the Federal Government has put mechanisms in place to improve the capacity of the Nigerian Customs Services (NCS), which is our second largest revenue earner. What needs to be done next is to harmonise the salaries and allowances of rank and file of the NCS staff to be inline with those of the military and other para-military services. This will eliminate corruption and improve efficiency. The Federal Government's policy on making Nigeria not only self sufficient in food production, but also a major food exporter, is still in the pipeline. This much awaited agricultural policy, coupled with the Federal Government's policy on exploration of our vast mineral resources will go a long way in making Nigeria less dependent on oil and gas.
As eluded to by the former governor of Lagos state, Barrister Raji Fashola, during his ministerial screening at the Senate, that all the 36 states of the federation are significantly under-performing in terms of IGR, due to inefficiency and corruption. Some are however, better than others. According to data obtained from the office of National Bureau of Statistic (NBS), the best performers in IGR over the past year are Lagos state (N276 billion), Rivers state (N89.1 billion), Delta state (N42.8 billion), Enugu state (19.2 billion), and Ogun state (N17.4 billion). The same data shows that the worst performers over the same period are Borno state (N2.7 billion), Yobe state (N3.0 billion), Zamfara state (N3.1 billion), Ekiti state (N3.4 billion) and Taraba state (N3.8 billion). See attached graph.
Beyond any doubt, there is a correlation between our economic prosperity and corruption. If corruption is eliminated at the local government and state levels, our states IGR will significantly improve. There is capacity to improve IGR by 1,000%, especially in some of the least performing states. The good news is this; the poor performing states of Borno, Yobe, Zamfara, Ekiti, and Taraba are some of the most endowed states of the federation with mineral resources and agricultural capacity. With good governance in place, it is possible for Nigeria to completely cease dependence on oil and gas as its major revenue earner.
May God save Nigeria and Nigerains. Amen.
Dr. Idris Ahmed.
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