By Debo Popoola
Most times when budgetary issues are being discussed and analysed, there is this cynical expression in the countenances of most Nigerians that ask the question: “How does it affect me?”; and with all sincerity, they have very good reasons for such skepticism.
At every end of the year, Nigerian government always announce its budget for the coming year. This budget is always given ear-worthy title and loaded with prospects and promises for the coming year. They always run in trillions of naira apportioned to different ministries and agencies. But an average Nigerian is always skeptical and pessimistic about it as this budget, at the end of each year, has not impacted meaningfully into his or her life. Nothing ever changed.
At the end of every year, he or she still uses the same bad roads that the budget made provision for to be tarred; he or she powers his or her business with generator when the budget had promised to construct power plants; and his or her children are given the poorest of basic education at government institutions when the budget had stipulated to restructure the education sector. To him or, the annual budget announcement is akin to annual government lies.
An average Nigerian has however grown to believe that whenever the government comes on air to announced its budget, it has only come to announce how much will be shared among top politicians and party members. And to justify this assumption, an average Nigerian can easily point to the current billions of dollars arm scandal probe involving former NSA, Sambo Dasuki and top members of Peoples Democratic Party.
Thus, an average Nigerian is right for being overtly pessimistic each year Nigerian government come on air to announce its budget.
It seems President Buhari himself is fully aware of this ubiquitous pessimism among most Nigerians. In his speech delivered to the joint session of the legislatures, he acknowledged that many Nigerians would be saying to themselves “I have heard this before” Yes! The President is right, we all have heard it before, of budgets laden with fruitless promises and expectations, of budgets that appeared on the surface a commonwealth plan for all but ended up betraying our hopes and aspirations, they ended up in the pockets of few powerful ones.
How does the President expect us to believe and key into this new budget? What makes this one different from the ones we have read and heard about? It is easy to come up with a scintillating budget than to implement it.
The year 2016 budget makes provisions for programmes that will positively affect the general masses; the social welfare packages which will be administered by the office of the vice president is a good chunk for the masses out of the budget if judiciously implemented.
The budget promises about 500,000 teaching jobs as an emergency measure to tackle the problem of shortage of teachers in many of our elementary schools. According to the President, both university graduates and NCE holders will be employed. This move will resurrect the moribund standard of our nation’s primary education. It is not new that out primary schools are nothing to write home about as many Nigerians now prefer to enroll their wards in private elementary schools.
Another aspect of the budget that the masses might benefit from is the huge amount apportioned to capital expenditures. For the first time in many years, we have a budget that voted N1.8 trillion for capital expenditure, amounting to 30 per cent of the whole N6.08 trillion budget.
Infrastructure has always been a major problem in Nigeria, if this budget is well implemented, then at the end of 2016, we might have something to smile about as Nigerians; but still, time will tell.
