•Gbenga Hashim
A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential aspirant, Dr Gbenga Hashim, has faulted Nigeria’s continued reliance on the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) economic prescriptions.
He said the country’s economic decline stemmed from policy choices shaped by external institutions rather than domestic realities.
Hashim said this in an interview on Monday on a national television programme where he discussed the economy, national development, and his proposed $4 trillion economic plan.
The presidential hopeful recalled that Nigeria performed better when it pursued independent economic policies, citing the country’s economic standing in the 1970s.
“When Nigeria wasn’t listening to the IMF hook, line, and sinker, our GDP per capita in 1976 was three times that of China, and our GDP was also double of Malaysia in 1966,” he said.
Hadhim argued that “no serious nation swallows every pill that the IMF dispenses”.
The PDP stalwart stressed that, since the Global Fund is not an investor, its projections should not serve as the primary benchmark for national progress.
He said the true measure of economic performance should be reflected in the living conditions of citizens rather than headline growth figures.
Hashim also faulted the federal government’s celebration of a four per cent GDP growth rate, describing it as inadequate in the context of what he called significant economic losses in recent years.
“After shaving 50 per cent off the GDP, a four per cent growth rate still represents a net decline. The GDP declined from $574 billion in 2014 to $230 billion now,” he said.
The presidential aspirant argued that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) administration cannot credibly claim economic progress until Nigeria’s GDP surpasses the level it inherited in 2015.
Drawing a comparison with the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Hashim noted that Nigeria recorded steady economic expansion between 1999 and 2003.
“When Obasanjo came in 1999, Nigeria recorded 5.5 per cent growth in 2000, but by 2003, the country was achieving a 9.5 per cent growth rate,” he said.
Hashim argued that despite its shortcomings, the PDP performed better than the APC across sectors.
He criticised the APC’s record in the power sector, alleging that the government failed to significantly improve electricity generation capacity in the past decade.
“APC has not added one megawatt of electricity in 10 years,” Hashim stated.
The PDP stalwart also claimed that rather than expanding the economy, the current administration has presided over a contraction.
“APC has not added $1 to Nigeria’s GDP; instead, it destroyed 50 per cent of our GDP in 10 years,” he said.
Giving his take on the agriculture sector, Hashim alleged that Nigeria has lost nearly $4 billion in productive capital within two years under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, attributing the decline to what he called attempts to “artificially crash food prices”.
According to him, the move has weakened farmers and disrupted the value chains.
Hashim said the economy required a double-digit growth to get back into shape.
Assessing the performance of the nation’s currency, Hashim said: “Massive devaluation of the naira started in 1986. There is nothing original or creative about that.”
The PDP stalwart stressed that the economy needed a Keynesian-style package; a Roosevelt kind of bold plan for its over-depressed economy not “more and more of the same failed reform measures,” he said.
