The World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Director-General, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has said that consistent policy implementation is crucial for driving development.
“Maintaining good economic and social policies, maintaining policy consistency, and adding more reforms on top of that will lead us along the path of good progress that we all desire,” she said in a keynote address at the opening of the week-long Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Lagos.
Okonjo-Iweala criticized the tendency of discarding existing policies, which she termed the “not-in-my-administration syndrome,” where new leaders abandon previous initiatives without continuity.
According to the economist, some fundamental policies should be considered untouchable and maintained consistently, regardless of changes in administration, to ensure stability and continuity.
She said: “Nigeria today is not where it should be, and our country has not progressed as it should have.
“That is why, more than 60 years after independence, we are still discussing nation-building. But we must shift our focus from blame games to concrete actions that tackle present and emerging challenges.
“I said this not in recrimination or even in futile regret, but rather as part of moving our country and advancing its interests. We are living in very difficult times, not only locally here in Nigeria but also globally.
“I’m not here to castigate or blame anyone; I’m here to speak to all governments of my country, all political parties, and all Nigerians about a positive way forward for the country.
“We all understand that where policies are bad and not working, of course politics should intervene. But where things are working to the good, we ask, why fix what is not broken?
“By social contract, I mean a fundamental cross-party, cross-society agreement that certain things in the economy, in the country, in policy, and in society are sacrosanct and shall not be touched or changed when administrations change.
“The social contract is about how we pool our resources to provide the public goods we agree are needed and how we support those affected by adverse shocks.
“What I’m saying is that all major actors in the governance of our country should agree on some basic parameters for security, macroeconomic and social stability, and the enabling environment for the future dynamism and growth of our country.
“Once agreed, these parameters and policies should be institutionalized or enshrined in law or even be made part of our Constitution, not to be tampered with, except perhaps through a national referendum involving the entire country and society.
“Maintaining good economic and social policies, that is, maintaining policy consistency, and adding more reforms on top of that will lead us along the path of good progress that we all desire.
“As we know, our political leaders have thus far never been able to agree to stick to a common set of principles and policies that deliver on a consistent basis for citizens, irrespective of ethnic group or political persuasion.
“A social contract could become a basis for the virtuous circles of reform, growth, peace, security, and trust that have too long eluded us.”
She added: “No one should tamper with the Central Bank asking for the manipulation of interest rates or exchange rates. Do not use the Central Bank as a fiscal agent, asking for the printing of naira beyond agreed ‘Ways and Means’ limits, as this can fuel inflation.
“Security has been weaponized in our country for political purposes by political actors, leading partly to the difficult situation we have now.
“We have politicians who believe that the best way to make their opponents look bad is to instigate insecurity, making it look like they can’t govern.
“Regardless of whether this leads to the loss of life and property of innocent Nigerians, this has to stop. A second aspect of security relates to the security of national assets.
“Nigerians have seen for years how organized crude oil thefts on a massive scale seriously undermine the economic and financial health of the country. All Nigerians must agree that stealing of our national assets of any type is intolerable and must be stopped.
“How can we be struggling to see how to strengthen our foreign exchange reserves with the government of the Central Bank working so hard on this when so much is being lost through oil thefts? There is so much technology available now to track such thefts, and there must be no more excuses for inaction.”
Leave a comment