Prof. Yusha’u Ango of the Kaduna State University (KASU) on Wednesday says one year is too early to assess President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies aimed at reforming the country’s economy.
Ango, who is a Professor of Finance and Entrepreneurship, made the disclosure during an Interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna..
“The prescriptions of the Bretton Wood institutions; which means you open your economy and remove subsidies to remove bottlenecks here and there.
“The intention behind the policies is very good, especially the removal of fuel subsidy which was the first one but naturally we know that it would cause inflation.
“It was followed with the decision to allow the naira to find it’s true value, again that further increased the level of inflation in the economy,”,he said.
According to him, life has been quite difficult for ordinary Nigerians in terms of economy and finance due to the policies coming one after the other.
Ango said that the citizens would want to see whether the policies would be effective in helping out the economy following the Presidential Economic Coordination Council set up by the president.
He commended the government for coming up with some palliatives to ease the suffering of the masses, adding that Nigeria needed to strengthen its currency .
Ango said, “You don’t throw your currency to the market and allow market forces, especially in countries like Nigeria where people find ways to take advantage of the currency.
“In our own case, we find that from what was reported that some companies that came from outside the country in the form of crypto and other currencies were the ones affecting the Naira.”.
While recommending ways to make Nigeria’s economy bounce back, the don urged the government to ensure food security by further subsidising agriculture.
He explained that rather than remove subsidies,the government should ensure that the right people who need the support get them.
Ango stated that for the country to alleviate poverty, it should have a big plan which would include securing agriculture through the provision of inputs and processing what the farmers produce.
According to him, the government needed to generate more power and ensure adequate supply of it, adding that the power should be made affordable for the masses.
He urged Nigerians not to totally depend on the government as it doesn’t have the capacity to solve all their problems, advising that the youths must embrace entrepreneurship to achieve financial stability.(NAN)
