Minister Of Agric, Chief Audu Ogbe Has This To Say Regarding Nigeria's Distressed Economy...

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbe, after a historical review of the nation’s economy blamed the current hardship on economists and greedy elite. ‎ The minister who spoke with a group of Journalists in Abuja bared his mind on the deadly Farmers/herdsman attacks, ranches, grazing reserves amongst other National issues.

The President Muhammadu Buhari administration came on board with a promise to better the lives of Nigerians. However, more than one year into office Nigerians are grappling with harsh economy more than ever before. As a cabinet member of this administration, what is your perspective on the economic state of the country?

The challenges we are grappling with today started in 1986 and forced Africa into what they called Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP). I am not an economist but I remember shouting out loud and clear that this was the beginning of Nigeria’s journey to disaster.

I was in Hong Kong with Senator Godwin Okpe, the day they began the auctioning of the dollar. It was N3 to $1 the first day. We phoned home and spoke to the then Head of Service of the Federation, Abu Obe, and he told us that the auction was N3 to $1; and I said to Godwin Okpe, ‘this is the beginning of the journey to disaster.’

Even when I was party chairman in 2003, I addressed the party then in Ogun State and I said we were practicing “ill-digested” economic theories. The then President (Obasanjo) and other members were not happy that I should make such a comment as Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman, but I knew what I was saying because economics is 90 per cent common sense.

If we were going to devalue our currency, it could have taken a 10, 15 per cent devaluation and fixed it there like Malaysia did; Malaysia said to them, ‘take it or leave’. Instead, we chose to auction the dollar every week for 30 years. Nobody does that; I don’t know where any of them, the brilliant defenders of SAP copied that thing from, but they would tell you that they went to the World Bank and all that.

If you don’t know colonial history, you will never be a successful economist in Africa; you need to know the background to what they force you to do. If you don’t know history, I don’t care about how many PhDs you have from Harvard University or Oxford, you will not understand the complexity of economic policy as it is dictated to us.

On top of that, we came under globalization and free trade, and we were told, ‘open your doors and windows to import’; we even removed our roofs; everything coming in. Today, I think some interests have even taken Nigeria hostage.

We can’t produce now because over and above this whole thing, interest rates in this country have remained averagely 25 to 28 per cent for 30 years. So, you can’t borrow to fund agriculture, build industries or do anything because it is impossible to take a loan. Meanwhile, they keep telling us that we are growing at 7 per cent all on the back of figures from all oil and gas. We could see it but they kept telling us that there was no alternative.

So, the point I want to make now is that whichever government was in power today, whether it was Jonathan who continued or Buhari as he is now, was bound to face the problem we are facing, especially because oil and gas stopped flowing. So, people are poor and unhappy, we know.

But there is simply nothing anybody can do except to go through a slow process to recover from the disaster of 30 years of error.

And I want to challenge any economist to a debate on the issue; what some of us said long time ago was, ‘cut down on imports’, use duty to stop people from bringing in champagne, red wine and all sorts of luxuries, jets; things that we don’t need but which we delighted in buying and dumping on our country instead of using effort to grow the local economy to increase manufacturing; bring machinery to support agriculture, we did nothing.

So, today we have crashed. And Nigerians are very angry and we are sad. People have to steal a pot of soup now or drop a baby to carry gari; it’s a very terrible thing to happen. But I am asking anyone of them that which government in Nigeria would have been in a different position from what we are in now? In fact, it could have been worse but for the fact that Buhari is tightening the situation to cut down on the waste.

Now, compare us to Venezuela today, where there is nothing in the shops; people cross the bridge to Columbia to go shopping. Venezuela was richer than Nigeria; a very powerful oil economy. So, this is the problem.

Economists and very greedy elite who see only their comfort when they see an economic policy; many of those who kept defending SAP were people who had plenty money abroad and couldn’t be affected either way. All they had to do was to draw down a few dollars and they had heaps of naira.

For you the journalists, this is the background to this entire problem, because I had been witness to it. Before 1985, the naira was equal to $1.50 cents; a naira was almost one pound sterling. They were determined to knock it down; they asked Shehu Shagari in 1982, he refused, they asked Buhari in 1985, he too refused to devalue.

Somehow they managed to clobber the rest of Africa by 1986; that is why we are here and that is why there is so much hardship. Even now, if we want to take a loan to build a factory, how can you do it? A million dollars is N330 million naira.

And the ridiculous side of it is, I was in Washington three months ago, my Special Assistant wanted to buy bananas; he was hungry. He saw one banana (one finger), he bought for $1. 70 cents; that is, N600 now. While N600 here will buy you two bunches of banana; which is to tell you that this so-called devaluation is rubbish. It’s just hype.

So, they corner us into these things and there is no debate; the political elite is not analytical enough or strong enough to say, ‘no we can’t do this’, like India and China did many years ago.

If you are not strong enough, then realize that globalization and free trade mean competition. Otherwise, it’s like sending my five-year-old grandson into the boxing ring with Mike Tyson; you know very well what will happen.

The Minister of Finance was called to the Senate a few days ago and they were asking her, ‘when will this situation change? She should have told them point blank, ‘this would have happened to any regime anywhere in the world’ because we were not ready. Having said that; we are working very hard.

Recently your ministry was in the news over alleged diversion of some contract funds. What is your reaction to this allegation?

A few weeks ago, some people said we were paying money to some people; the Permanent Secretary. I and the Minister of state stole N2billion. Well, how was the money stolen? The Minister of Finance handled the payment, it didn’t come to my ministry; how do you take money you never saw?

The President approved it, I said I don’t want to handle it, carry the papers and meet the Finance Minister and the Accountant General of the Federation and pay into the accounts of all the contractors. This was a debt left behind by the previous government, not mine.

The contractors came and said they were broke, then I went and pleaded with the President then he said, ‘let me help you find something and give them so that they can stay on the business’; so he did that. For the balance, they can go and see the President himself, I am not going there or they can sue the last government to pay them. I will never touch it.

What is your response to a suit instituted by a civil society organisation concerning an award of a contract without due process in your ministry?

A businessman came to the ministry and said he wants to help us develop egg production in the country; he wanted our understanding and partnership to encourage the state governments and farmers. So, we signed an MoU, then they said it was a contract.

We don’t have N25 billion in my ministry. So, we said if you want to do it, we will help you talk to governors, organize farmers, women cooperatives, but you will raise your own money and do it. He said yes that he only wants our understanding, so we signed.

The next thing we saw was that we awarded the contract of N25 billion. We have no authority in the ministry to award any contract of N25 billion without going to Council. Secondly, we don’t have that money in our budget and we don’t need such a project now. Let them produce a copy of the said contract document.

I will be 69 years old in three days’ time (Thursday), money is not what I am looking for now. I have built a name; it matters to me more than anything else on earth.

What am I doing with N2 billion apart from helping people who come my way. Since morning, I have had one meal; I’m not buying any new shoes or a jet. My children have been clearly told to try and find their own way in life; none of them is in government.

I told them, ‘work hard, I have no wealth to leave behind for you except if I have a plantation in the village. The day I check out, you manage it as you wish.

A lot of people in this country have terrible venom in their hearts; it diminishes them but they don’t know. The man who hates is more the victim than the person he hates because they don’t know what anger is burning inside them and diminishing them.

As if I knew it, I told them to go to the Ministry of Finance; I don’t want to handle cash. And they have been paid. That is where we are.

Having said that, we are in a society where there is competition and we from Benue (I regret to say) are very poor. I know how rich some people are in this country; we don’t have much.

Nigerians are angry over the incessant violent attacks on farming communities by herdsmen in Benue and other states in the country? What efforts is the Federal Government doing about this?

Farmers and herdsmen clashes are getting worse by the year; newly 10 years. But I want to assure you that by the grace of God, I will bring it to an end. On August 4 this year, we shall begin the Paddock development, that is, the growing of special grasses for cattle. And we are trying to invite the President to be there.

We have started bringing in some special seeds of grass. It’s called Foda seed, because grass is not just grass. Some of these grasses are even poisonous and injurious to cattle. And the reason why these cows are roaming is as a result of search for grasses and water. Over the years, we have not done much to look after cows so the conflicts are increasing.

No farmer in the world would like to plant his crops and arrive to see that cows have eaten everything up. It’s not fair.

Then conflict begins with the herdsmen coming from as far away as Senegal. In fact, some of the herdsmen claim that the grass around Agatu and parts of Northern Benue are so rich that the grass increases the fertility of their cows.

So, it’s like, ‘kill us if you like, we are bringing our cows here.’ And it always happens during the dry season up North because then desert encroachment has dried up the whole place; there is no grass left in Senegal, Mali, Mauritania, and so they are here. A few who were arrested before spoke no Nigerian language.

But the answer is we will slowly stop this thing. We have started growing the Paddocks; very rich grasses. Some with at least 18 per cent protein and we intend to get the cows to settle in those places so that this conflict comes to an end. It has to.