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Moghalu urges Buhari to reduce unemployment

By BusinessNews Staff on April 9, 2015

A former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Kingsley Moghalu has advised the president-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari to ensure that his administration focuses on policies that would create jobs in order to bring down the country’s unemployment rate from 23.9 per cent.

Moghalu, who is a member of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) Advisory Board and a Professor of Practice in International Business and Public Policy at Tufts University’s Fletcher School, stated this in an article titled: “Gen Buhari’s revolutionary win.”

He also called on Buhari to confront the fiscal and monetary crisis as a result of the decline in oil prices, when he assumes office.
“He has to tackle a severe electricity infrastructure shortage that markedly increases the cost of doing business, a result of universal reliance on generators,” Moghalu added.

The former CBN governor argued that Buhari’s victory was nothing short of revolutionary, saying that the task for the incoming leader is to bridge the country’s widespread deficit in trust in politicians – and be seen incontrovertibly as the leader of all Nigerians.

“No sitting Nigerian president and his government have ever been removed from office through the ballot box. This is a rarity in Africa as a whole. There has been only a handful of opposition electoral victories, including in Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Malawi, Senegal and Zambia.

“Perhaps just as important is incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan’s phone call to Buhari conceding defeat before final poll results were announced. This sets the tone for a peaceful transition devoid of the violence that characterised previous elections.

“The electoral aftermath opens a new chapter, signalling a level of democratic maturity in Africa’s most populous country and largest economy. And it brings hope that economic activity, stalled up to now by apprehensions about the elections, can return to normal more quickly. Nigerians have woken up to the power of their vote. This will increase pressure for better political governance and accountability,” he added.

Overall, he described the conduct of the election, including the use of technology, as an indication of positive outlook for Nigeria over the medium to longer term.

However, he pointed out that the historic nature of Buhari’s win does not obviate his many big challenges.

“Buhari’s economic policy will, like Jonathan’s, continue to be based on free-market capitalism with a large role for the private sector. One difference is likely to lie in a stronger driving role for government and a bottom-up approach to economic policy that will target job creation and more inclusive growth.

“Despite Nigeria’s average annual seven per cent GDP growth over the past decade, poverty remains stubbornly high at 60 per cent of the population.
“Expectations are high. Buhari’s honeymoon will be brief, at most six to 12 months after taking office at the end of May. His task is not enviable. But, since he sought it so ardently, Nigerians are prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt,” he stated.

[ThisDay]

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