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The Senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, has called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently convene a national economic summit led by seasoned experts such as Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
Speaking during an interview on Arise TV, Ndume argued that Nigerian-led solutions, rather than reliance on recommendations from institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, are crucial to addressing the nation’s economic challenges.
Ndume noted that someone like Okonjo-Iweala can give advice tailored to Nigeria’s situation and not harsh on Nigerians, unlike the IMF and World Bank policies.
He stressed the importance of prioritizing economic reforms that consider the realities of Nigerians, suggesting that an internally driven approach could yield more sustainable outcomes.
The senator’s call aligns with growing concerns about the impact of external economic policies on the country, with many stakeholders advocating for a homegrown strategy to drive growth and stability.
In his call for a national economic summit, he said, “Remember last time the National Economic Summit Group, NESG, was held, I think it was in Hilton, many Nigerians listened to the vice president of the IMF. The chairman gave out one harsh prescription, that the removal of subsidy was a movement in the right direction and that Nigeria should stay on that; the result of that would start manifesting after 15 years.
“And I went round to find out who is this guy talking anyway, and there you are with Nigerian professors, economic professors that are renowned worldwide, sitting down to listen to somebody; it’s just like you. I have been a lecturer for 20 years in the Polytechnic, and I’m not a specialist.
“My knowledge of economics is not deep, but I have common sense and basic economy, but assuming like me at 64 and diagnosed (God forbid) of cancer, and the doctor comes to tell me, okay, take this prescription, in the next 15 years, you will be okay, I will tell him to get out of that place.
“That is what the IMF is trying to drive us, when we have the World Bank, we have so many people. The president should as a matter of urgency, now organize a National Economic Summit. We don’t need any foreigner for that.”
When asked if he thinks President Tinubu is making up the point based on the fact that Nigeria’s problems are sedimented, Ndume said, “You don’t need foreigners for reforms, if you have experts at the back of your backyard or at your beck and call.
“In fact, some of these people have already volunteered, like I heard Okonjo-Iweala one time, she is ready to come and talk to Nigerians, and I was highly impressed when she was invited to South East governors forum and she was talking sense, and not a kind of imported or foreign, but talking to Nigerians as a Nigerian to solve Nigerian problems.”
He further stated, “Now you put that word ‘for different countries’. So, if you give Igbo man an European prescription, it may not work for an African. Now, malaria can kill an European, but malaria here, even a day before yesterday, they took my blood, I have permanently 1x malaria.
“If it is a white man, he will be hospitalized. And now try it. If you want a Nigerian to be strong enough from childhood, you feed him with pounded yam and garri but if you do that with Oyibo man, he will die! The prescription that Okonjo-Iweala and co will give Nigerians will be definitely less harsh and workable, because she knows -she is from here. She knows what is the problem.
“She knows what is to be done. She knows, they know because they are Nigerians. They know what needs to be done in the Nigerian situation.”
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