Recession: Blame constitution, not past regimes, Akinyemi tells Buhari

Recession: Blame
constitution, not past
regimes, Akinyemi tells
Buhari
October 3, 2016
Ramon Oladimeji and Alexander Okere
A former Minister of External Affairs, Prof. Bolaji
Akinyemi, says it is misleading for President
Muhammadu Buhari to blame past regimes for the
failure of the country to save for the rainy day.
Rather than demonise his predecessors by heaping
blames on them for the country’s woes, Akinyemi,
who was the deputy chairman of the 2014 National
Conference, told Buhari to blame the country’s plight
on the constitution.
According to him, the failure of the country to save
was rooted in Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution,
which made it mandatory for the largest chunk of the
revenue generated by the country to be deposited into
a central account for onward distribution among the
federal, state and local governments.
Akinyemi, who said this in a statement on Sunday,
clarified that he was not out to defend any of the past
leaders, some of whom he said deserved bashing,
having refused “to retire into graceful silence.”
The ex-minister, however, said his intervention was
motivated by the desire to focus the government’s
attention on the real solution to the nation’s problem.
He said, “If we have to lay blame, it should be at the
door of those responsible for the 1999 Constitution.
This does not mean Gen. Abubakar Abdulsalam alone,
or the military regime alone but includes elements of
the judiciary and civilians who were all instrumental in
midwifing that constitution.
“Serious attempts were made by both the (Olusegun)
Obasanjo and (Goodluck) Jonathan administrations to
put in place savings through the backdoor such as the
Excess Crude Accounts and Commonwealth Savings
Funds. Both were frustrated by the states and the
judiciary. The irony in Nigerian history is that some of
the state governors, who spearheaded the opposition
to the attempts to save, are now prominent in the
cabinet and the Senate.”
As opposed to merely blaming his predecessors,
Akinyemi advised Buhari to push for the amendment
of the constitution by particularly modelling it after the
Norwegian constitution.
He explained that the Norwegian model involved
pooling 100 per cent of government’s revenues from
royalties and dividends into a central account with a
provision that not more than four per cent could be
withdrawn in a year.
Akinyemi said, “What previous administrations failed
to do and which the present Buhari administration
should do is to single-mindedly drive a constitutional
amendment that would follow the Norwegian model.
“The Norwegian experience involves setting up a
Government Pension Fund Global into which 100 per
cent of the government’s revenue from royalties and
dividends are paid. In any one year, no more than four
per cent is allowed to be drawn from the account.
“The Nigerian model, given our peculiar federalism,
can include a provision that any withdrawal from the
fund must be with a unanimous decision of the
members of the National Economic Council. This is
the way forward and goes beyond name-calling and
the blame game.”
Meanwhile, the General Superintendent of the Deeper
Life Bible Church, Pastor William Kumuyi, has called
on Nigerians to be hopeful of a better society.
Kumuyi also called on the Federal Government to
diversify the economy from oil to other sectors like
agriculture and tourism.
The cleric, who spoke at the Benin Airport on
Saturday, en route to Delta State for a religious
programme, noted that the citizens should be
proactive rather than look at the “negative” side of the
country.
He explained, “(We have to) look at our economy and
look at diversification, so that we are not just
depending on oil alone, which everybody is realising
now.
“We need to go into agriculture, into tourism and other
things that will generate resources and funds for the
country. Look elsewhere out of oil for the country’s
economic growth.”
Kumuyi also expressed concern over the growing
cases of clerics allegedly indulging in immoralactivities, adding that “everybody is disturbed by the
development we see in some places.”
He noted that with Nigeria at 56, there was the need to
thank God for the progress made so far.
The cleric said, “We thank God that democracy is
taking root and we are making progress. There are
things to look into for us to become a better society.
But we are thanking God for what has happened
already.”
On his assessment of the Muhammadu Buhari
administration, Kumuyi said, “Sometimes in school,
we allow the students to finish their exams before we
assess them.
“Sometimes when you assess midway, you do not get
the right assessment. So, I think I like to still observe
more to see where we are going. So, when we get
there, we will be able to assess properly.”