By Toye Olori
LAGOS, Mar 9 2002 (IPS)

The shape of Nigeria’s home-grown economic policy thrust began to emerge this week as government slammed high-import duties on consumer goods after withdrawing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Information and National Orientation Minister, Jerry Gana, says consumers will now pay more for imported luxury items such as cigarettes, furniture, soaps, candles and drinks. Duties on such items range from 100 to 150 percent.

The new tariffs aim to protect local industries. Nigerian markets have been flooded with imported canned drinks, cigarettes, and soaps, to the detriment of local industries.

The government Tuesday announced its formal withdrawal from an IMF-monitored economic programme to enable it pursue a home grown alternative it believes is in the interest of its people.

Tunji Oseni, an aide to President Olusegun Obasanjo, says Nigeria’s withdrawal from the IMF is part of government’s bid to discontinue “arrangements where only narrowly defined macro-economic targets come into play”.

The botched co-operation between the government and the IMF dates back to the inauguration of the Obasanjo administration in 1999, during which the government invited the IMF and the World Bank to help check its macro-economic policies. The agreement came into effect in July 2000.

Specifically, the government invited the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the Bretton Woods Institution, to advise Nigeria on the privatisation of the Nigeria Airways. However, the government disagreed with the terms of the privatisation, prompting the pullout of the IFC from the exercise.

Finance minister, Adamu Ciroma says “the macro-economic targets should be people-oriented to enhance political stability”.

“Because the government values the benefits of political stability, democratic consolidation, credibility and accountability, it does not for the government not to commit to policies that could prove difficult to fully implement. “This has led to the discontinuation of the informal monitoring framework,” he said.

The Mission, he said, supports the government’s resolve to device a home-grown programme taking into account Nigeria’s realities, but urged that any such programme be strong and prudent enough to help achieve Nigeria’s social and economic objectives that the IMF fully shares.

Some Nigerians have hailed the government’s decision to pullout of the programme, describing the move as a positive development.

“Since the decision to withdraw from the programme is in the interest of Nigerians, it is acceptable and welcomed by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI),” said Agboola Odeyemi, President of the chamber.

He said: “It is a free world, if the programme they (the IMF) have for us is not in our interest, we are free to back out and I think that is what the Federal Government had done”.

Charles Ugwuh, President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), believes the IMF prescriptions have not been of any help and needed to be re-examined and replaced by more potent policies to help Nigeria out of its economic woes.

“The prescription of IMF is stereotyped because the same solution is prescribed to other countries. In our own case it has not been working which is the reason I have been calling for their re-examination. But this does not mean we should not deal with IMF. Other prescriptions should be made if the existing ones fail,” Ugwuh said.

But critics argue that the withdrawal is just political propaganda.

Lagos lawyer and rights activist, Gani Fawehinmi said: “It is a deception. It is a receptive ploy by Obasanjo because of the elections that are coming in less than a year. It is a political propaganda at serving electioneering purposes. Who is Obasanjo deceiving?”

“How can he say he is dumping IMF programmes after he has sold the nation’s soul to IMF? What other IMF reform has he not implemented? He has sold NITEL (Nigeria Telecommunications Ltd), He has opened our ports to the importation of all kinds of rubbish in the name of liberalisation and now he says he is repudiating IMF. Who is he fooling?” Fawehinmi wondered.

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