By Henry Nkom

Have you seen the budget outlay of the federal or a state government before? If you have seen the final clean copy of a state's budget for instance, ratified by the State's House of Assembly and signed by the executive governor, you would agree with me that, a man with an average education may not easily grasp some of the technical details in it. The condition of an illiterate man or semi literate person is even worse because non of the technical details will make any sense to him. So it would seen as if over the years in this country, states, local and federal governments and their officials simply made the budgets, they alone could understand and interpret because majority of people in this country cannot attempt to interpret budgets. The next level of making any gain out of the usual difficulty in getting people to appreciate the budget is that in which a minister of finance of the federal republic of Nigeria or a commissioner for finance of a state assumes the position of the all knowing god and before the television cameras and print journalists, he or she puts forward explanations on the theme of the budget, income and expenditure which are probably the only things that will make headlines in newspapers, radios and televisions the following day.
As the expert explains the budget outlay and why the figures which appear on it are incontestable; he goes back and forth touching on the successes of the previous year and to always win a political point, he tells of how inflation would come down to zero digit from the 100th digit where it is hanging from to strangulate his poor, hapless poverty ridden brothers and sisters. The political class who are the greatest beneficiaries of the previous budget at the forum smile unconsciously from ear to ear, clapping without any active thought of it and at the end each of them surrounded by camera men and reporters give inconceivable explanations on how the previous budget had been overtaken by immeasurable success and how the one of the current year will surpass the previous one in terms of the level of attainments.
These category of people may not be too technical in the explanation they give because they probably do not have the expertise to do so or have not curiously studied the budget to be able to see issues that make the masses worry. It is from them we hear how the value of funds voted for roads construction, reticulation of pipe-borne water, health, agriculture, industrial revolution, power supply, education and others are unprecedented. As expected, they would address the president or the governor in glowing terms and tell the masses how he deserved to live and lead forever. The trained economists, accountants and politicians have spoken unchallenged in the open, providing opportunities for debate in the market places, bus stops, palm wine or kaikai joints, the slums and in refugee camps where they exist.
This debate is without recourse to the inflation digit, the mind blowing and befuddling Gross National Product, GNP, Gross Domestic Products, GDP, balance of trade between the country and others with which it has bilateral business agreements. The debate in its raws, unadulterated form is so crisp, you could see clearly between it. They begin with the questions. Question one: If the inflation digits are collapsing at an unusual fast speed as the experts say, why is it that last year, between January and April, I could buy 6 cups of garri for N100 and today with a drop in the inflation digits, 4 cups of garri go for N100. Does this make sense?
Question two: I could buy a pound of beef for N250 last year, buy the condiments for my soup and put my tasty Afang soup on the table in my one room face me, I face you apartment with a total of N600 but today, even the periwinkle from my father's backyard that makes my Afang soup what it should be has become so expensive and I may need N1,500 to make the same pot of soup. So somebody tell me, how has the digits in the inflation graph dropped and made my life any better. Question three: There are promises in the budget of wavers to make raw materials needed for the production of household items and building materials drop but beverages keep getting even more expensive and my landlord jerks up my house rent from N1000 a room to N2000 in the current year, even with the operation of the budget of masses support. Question four: Why is it that I have to pay N100 this year for a distance I traveled by alalok last year for N40. Where now is the succour in the transportation sector provided for in the budget?
Question five: Why is it that with the increase in budgetary expenditure for health to provide access to good healthcare for people living in both urban and rural areas, there are reports that deaths still occur from malaria due to poor access to health facilities and even where there is a health centre, there is hardly any skilted person to attend to the patients. Question six: Why is it that huge sums are appropriated and released for the education sector, yet the correct learning environment cannot be accessed by children because school building have collapsed and desks are not even provided. More question here is; why are the books in the market, uniform and other learning materials becoming more and more expensive daily and the common man is not able to buy all the books and other requirements his children require to study in school?
Question seven: How come so much money in the budget is allocated to reticulation of pipe-borne water, and even with the successes in the budget, water from a source like the borehole is not within the reach of the poor masses. Question eight: Why is it that billions of naira is appropriated for road construction and the mostly unseen government has not as much as graded many of the roads in my rural community? Question nine: Why is it that year after year huge sums of money are allocated for rural electrification in various communities, yet, most of my unlucky compatriots who have had the ill luck of not been invited by anyone to the city, do not know about the magical look and working of an electric bulb. Question ten: Which is on the high rate of unemployment and never likely to be the last at a debate in a joint inspired by anguish and the driving intoxicating solace of kaikai and 404, or at the bus stop with benevolent hope provided by utasi, the masses ask these searching questions which are quickly dismissed by some of the people who should give the answers.
But Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Central Bank Governor during his screening at the Senate for once in the recent history of Nigeria dared to face the reality of the Nigerian economy and surely in the battle to truly identify the difference between reality and gambling in the budgets, he offered many victories to the “bus stop economists”.
Hear him “we should ultimately think of economics, not as a discipline or a theory book. For me, economic growth and economic development is not about looking at GDP and inflation and interest rates. At the end of the day, you have 150 million Nigerians. When I ask whether Nigeria is improving economically or not, the question I ask is that how many Nigerians who did not have three square meals, now have the three square meals a day? How many Nigerians who did not have a roof over their head? Now have a roof over their head? How many Nigerians who did not have education, now have an education? These are the indices with which to measure economic development. If your GDP is growing by 20% and 90% of your population is living in poverty, I don't see that as development”.
For members of the hallowed chambers of the Senate, the journalists covering the session and Nigerians watching the proceedings on television, this kind of answer couldn't have come from a CBN governor because in every way, Sanusi is an expert in financial matters who should judge economic growth by the figures in the books.
The journalists, Senators and everyone present at that session became dumb founded especially because Sanusi dared to challenge the awesome 7 point agenda of the Yar'Adua administration. He broke the most sacred creed of the agenda to demand that government should focus on one or two ingredients of the agenda. He thought more emphasis and spending on power supply could trigger off real, tangible economic growth when the welders, tailors, barbers, joint owners and other small business people spend a little less than what they are spending currently on Power Supply.For the CBN governor to speak in this manner, he dared the political gods too much. At that point he was thinking and talking not like a political leader in Nigeria but a commoner and this certainly was politically incorrect. So, when journalists attending the session at the hallowed chamber deified Sanusi for daring to speak the truth, Yar'Adua's Spokeman, Segun Adeniyi was to state in a politically correct manner what Sanusi's slip placed wrongly the following day.
He was to tell the whole world that there was no going back on the 7 point agenda as Sanusi had tried to suggest, insisting that unless the agenda is taken wholistically, the poor people in Nigeria could never have access to the basic needs of life. Between the masses, the budget and Sanusi, only one thing is true - an improving economy provides jobs, education, houses, food and other basic needs of life for the people. QED!