Pan-Yoruba socio-cultural and socio-political organization, Afenifere, has urged President Bola Tinubu-to beware of the advice of the World Bank, in which it prescribed the reduction in government’s support for social services in Nigeria.
TMY Newspaper reports that World Bank Group’s Senior Vice President, Indermit Gill, had at a programme early this week in Abuja, referred to the withdrawal of support being provided by the government for social and economic programmes in Nigeria and the floating of the Naira.
Gill was speaking at the three-day Summit of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG).
He stated that the results of the current efforts would bear fruits n 10 to 15 years.
Jumping on the issue, National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Jare Ajayi, implored he federal government to take the advice. With a pinch of the salt.
According to a signed statement, Ajayi said: “Firstly, the current administration under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would have run its terms before the 10 to 15 years the presumed dividends of the World Bank prescriptions will manifest.
“Meaning that this administration may then only be remembered for the sacrifices made by the people and the attendant sufferings while another administration would take the credit for the dividends – if at all.
“So, rather than continuing with the Bank’s policies, resort should be made to policies that boost local businesses and encourage local initiatives thus reducing dependence on imported goods.”
Ajayi added: “The conditions given by the Bank included budget cuts, removal of subsidies from some services being provided for the people and the devaluation of the country’s currency. But, instead of heeding the advice, the Malaysian PM did the exact opposite. Of course, it was tough initially. Today, however, Malaysia is growing economically and is one of the few countries that are shedding off the toga of third-worldism.
“What we are saying is that while it is important to lay a good foundation for economic recovery, the models being prescribed by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should be no-go areas because the havoc such models have wreaked in some of the countries that applied them.”
