By Ibironke Oluwatobi & Ibironke Oluwatomiwa 

THE state of the Nigerian economy is an urgent topic. Nigerians are engaged in ambivalent discussions about the economy, its fickleness and prospects. These discussions have lingered at civil, organizational, governmental and even foreign fora. Today, the economy is in a state of uncertainties.

Every sector is troubled. The fact is, Nigeria moves one step forward and reverses by five steps backwards. We have had more political crises, debt servicing issues and turbulence in the oil sector to deal with, than the number of positives. Even the presumed economic successes recorded would last momentarily, we should expect de javu. The issue of high inflation now at 12.4 percent, fluctuation in the foreign exchange market, and fall in revenue is preparing to revisit, if we fail to implement strong economic policies. How long would we use aspirin for our economic pains?

Renowned Economist, Tope Fasuyi described the approach of the present government to the economy as chemotherapeutic. For as long as our economy depends on foreign economies like China, US as donors, we would continue to whine. If we keep waiting for foreign plates before we feed, we would remain tied to their apron strings.

We need not be reminded that dependence is only as good as the benevolence of the donor. The moment the backer country switches interest, our country suffers, even more. The frail nature of the Nigerian economy can be attributed to its being petroleum based. The instance the global oil price plummets, the economy of Nigeria begins to wobble. This nub can be corrected by the development of other sectors.

The salvation of the economy, diversification has remained a grail. Diversification has been recommended to the government in the past, but has repeatedly been met with laxity and sheer disdain. President Buhari seems to see things from this direction when he said ‘’diversification is urgent’’.

I hope his statement is followed with action, measures that will yield tangible results. For too long, Nigerian resources have been fed to foreign mouths, leaving our sectors deficient. Three directly affected sectors are; health, education and agriculture. Just as the heart, kidney and liver are important to human, these three sectors are crucial to the state of our economy.

According to World Health Organisation, the Nigerian health system was ranked 187 out of 191 countries, topping only DR Congo, Central African Republic and Myanmar. The Human Development Report of 2008 placed Nigeria in the low human development index category. In fact, Nigeria, the so called ‘African giant’ was ranked 154 out of 179 countries behind Cameroun, Ghana, and Senegal. The health sector in Nigeria has since witnessed little development. A good number of Nigerians fly abroad for health treatment, thereby placing our scanty foreign exchange in foreign pockets.

The 2014 Nigerian Medical Association report showed that the annual spending on medical tourism by Nigerians was above N120 billion, with an estimated 5000 patients travelling to India and Turkey on a monthly basis. In 2015, Nigeria spent $28 billion on medical tourism. This shows how our health sector is being denied essential funds. The Nigerian health sector would have benefited immensely from an investment of this size.

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While our educational system is marred by poor facilities and half-baked graduates, £14 billion is spent by Nigerians in pursuit of education in the UK alone. By 2020, the figure is predicted to rise to £21 billion.

Imagine a £14 billion investment into the Nigerian education sector with effective policies and coordination, the future of the country would smile at us. Countries like U.S, UK, Ukraine, Malaysia, and Cyprus have all made capital of the vulnerability of our country. Even African countries like Benin Republic and South Africa have all gained from the loss of Nigeria.

The Agricultural sector which provides about 30% of employment in Nigeria depends largely on importation to supplement its produce. The fact that sugar cane was sixth on the list of  2015 top imported items gives a clue to the level of insufficiency of our agricultural sector. Rice, palm oil, wheat are high on the importation list, yet the minister of agriculture, Mr Audu Ugbeh believes the importation of grass from Brazil is the next line of action.

Our agriculture would benefit to a great extent from modern farming practices and biotechnological advancements. We can grow enough grass for our cattle and develop the agricultural sector in general, with agricultural reformation.

Basic level farm tools remain the major impediments to our agricultural production potential. Cocoa as one of the leading non-oil foreign exchange earners, followed by rubber; testifies to the prospects of the agricultural sector.

If at the present primordial state of our agriculture, it is potent enough to provide more employment opportunity, it would only be logical to open up the sector through further investment. Commercialization as a result of active government intervention would liberate our agricultural department.

The health, educational and agricultural sectors represent the vital organs of the body of the Nigerian economy. Our country has been a donor who gives out his heart, kidneys and liver. How would Nigeria feel fine? Other countries would surely not mind our propensity to depend on others.

•Oluwatobi & Oluwatomiwa write via [email protected]