African Development Activist, Professor Anthony Chibo and an economist, Chijioke Okechukwu, have urged President Bola Tinubu to prioritize the welfare of Nigerians when bargaining with China, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
The economists said these following the five-day visit of Tinubu to China amidst economic hardship faced by Nigerians.
Tinubu’s reforms have escalated the prices of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), electricity tariffs and floated the currency.
These decisions coupled with insecurity led to a spike in the cost of living in Africa’s most populous country.
Inflation rose to 33.4 per cent in July while prices of PMS have surged to over N800 per litre under the administration.
Last week, the president traveled for the African China 2024 Forum Conference (FOCAC) in Beijing to seek investors in the country.
The economist, Okechukwu said in an interview that the government has to be careful in its negotiations with China and the IMF to favour Nigerians.
Okechukwu said, “When we listen to the IMF and the World Bank and they say one thing or the other, they don’t consider the people. What they consider is whether the country will be able to repay its debt.
“So, they say let us give them the conditions that will make them pay us back our money when due. The people are not their concern. For example, China invited African countries. We should be deceiving ourselves if we think China has an interest in us. They are coming to invest $51bn.
“I was DG Abuja Chamber of Commerce, I can tell you when I was on that seat, a lot of these people came and they had targets given to them on how to achieve the market size of Nigeria.
“Don’t forget, most of the investments they will do in Nigeria will be done by their construction companies, their banks will handle the transactions and these monies will still go back to them.”
Professor Anthony Chibo also highlighted the need to cut the size of the government and the cost of running government offices.
Chibo disclosed that Nigeria would save trillions that would be channeled into the economy.
He said, “What if all government allowances to public officers were slashed by 50 per cent? The size and the cost of government by 50 per cent. That means, not the salaries because no government person lives on salary.
“Their allowances and expenditure just cut everything. When you do that, you won’t believe the amount of money that will be saved. It includes trips outside.
“The amount of money saved will go a long way in showing concern to alleviate the sufferings of the people.”