Fiscal Indiscipline

Fiscal, Indiscipline in the literal sense, means the misapplication of funds, financial rascality or imprudence, by its managers or those in positions of authority. This, among other reasons, has been the bane of Nigeria’s development since our attainment of independence.

FISCAL indiscipline as an endemic socio-economic malaise in Nigeria, was again recently highlighted when the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director, Dominique Strauss-Khan, while reasoning with Nigeria’s House of Representatives Speaker, Dimeji Bankole noted that, “Nigeria’s impressive revenue profile has not translated to better living conditions for the people.”

THE visiting IMF boss further observed that Nigeria as one of the highest revenue earning countries in the world couldn’t be said to be utilizing the money for the future benefit of the country.
SUCH an observation could not have been made at a more appropriate time as this, against the backdrop of years of collaborative looting of the nation’s treasury by public-office holders.

NIGERIA is one of the most blessed countries in the African continent, rich in human, material and natural resources, with its economic mainstay accruing from crude oil, the price of which has been soaring beyond projection, in past years. Unfortunately, this has not translated into better lives for Nigerians, as the gap between the “haves” and the “have notes” continues to get wider by the day.

The reasons are not far-fetched and as rightly observed by the IMF boss, they arise from financial indiscipline. It is a well known fact that the military juntas we have had, played leading roles in the financial predicaments of the country. For example, the oil boom of the 70s and early 80s were mismanaged by both the military and the inept democratic dispensation that followed them with the over pricing and over inflation of contract awards, outright embezzlement of public funds, misapplication of funds in goods and services that had no direct social hearing on the lives of Nigerians and the sponsoring of projects and programmes which were of no relevance to the country and its people. The resultant consequences found expressions in the country’s economic woes of later years.
AS a means of checking this menace, the immediate past government of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo set tip various anti-graft agencies like the EFCC, ICPC, CCB etc. to instill a sense of Financial discipline in the heads of public offices who see looting of public funds as part of their own share of the national cake.

much as government is to be commended for taking such bold steps at ensuring financial discipline in the polity, Nigerians are not unaware of the fact that there are still so many avenues of wastages of public funds.

Monies appropriated to the different sectors of the economy by way of annual budgetary allocations, are never accounted for when it comes to taking stock of performances of government ministries and departments, particularly as such allocated funds translate into better life for the populace. A typical example is the controversial N300 billion said to have been expended on Federal roads between year 2000 and 2003, whereas Nigerians are still living witnesses of the deplorable conditions of our highways.

ANOTHER aspect of our economy where fiscal rascality has been so pronounced, is in the power sector, where despite billions of dollars of tax payers’ monies that have been reportedly expended, no visible or tangible signs of improvement have manifested.

AT this juncture, we admonish that the issues of fiscal indiscipline in Nigeria, either as it relates to misapplication or misappropriation, should no longer be treated with kid gloves. Accountability should henceforth; lie strictly enforced in pubic offices to the extent that those who misappropriate or misapply public funds should lie made to suffer severely for such crimes, so as to serve as a deterrent to others.

THE legislature should take seriously, its over-sight functions with a view to ensuring that the excesses of the executive as regards financial indiscipline are check—mated.

ABOVE all, transparency and good governance should henceforth lie our watchword so that the plenty and abundance which Nigeria is endowed withare translated into quality life for t lie citizenry.