"if we don't change our spending habits things will get worse!- Bunmi Lawson M.D Accion Micro Finance

Listening to Bunmi Lawson, Chief Executive officer and Managing Director of ACCION Micro finance Bank Limited. on LagosTalks91.3, Nigeria's premier talk radio which is based in Lagos was very enlightening. For once we have a banker's view of the economy in Nigeria and we understand that things are not as good as some people are painting them to be. Lawson was talking to Jimi Disu on the Morning Digest and some very interesting issues were discussed. 
Tougher times are ahead: For Nigeria, the end of the recession may not be insight yet, The banker believes that there are tougher times ahead if we do not put things right now. She explained that Nigeria is not going in the right direction. Lawson claimed that she recently attended a conference where it was concluded that there are too many policy perambulations. She said "Its time to take a course of direction and stick to it". The description that the bank MD gives a vague impression that Nigeria is a like a boat sailing on an ocean that keeps changing course. From Lawson's submission, the policy changes in FOREX that the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN keeps instituting and changing come to mind. During the course of the interview it was noted that flip fop policies of the CBN cannot help Nigeria!
The bloated public sector in Nigeria was also discussed in the interview. It appears the public service which includes the politicians and the civil servants is too vast for the nation's economy to handle for now. Last week Alhaji Lai Mohammed put the wage bill of the federal government workers alone at N165billion a month. If we add the income of Senators and House of Representative members to this its an awful lot.
Lawson wondered how we can speak of diversifying an economy effectively when we do not have stable power supply! She projected that the prices of oil on the world market may not be able to exceed $40 to $50 in the next couple of years and so government may have to do something drastic. Tax holidays offered by ministers of solid minierals, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, were described by a step in the right direction by her, but she said our polity must show more stability to attract foreign direct investment. She warned that the recession wont end over night, stating that it took the UK almost 10 years to get out of their recession. Sundry policies that she expected government to tackle were the fuel subsidy which she said could have been removed totoally via a planned time table. It cannot be removed at once with out adverse effects on the economy, she noted. The government of the country, she said, needs to invest in sectors that would lead to development: Power, roads, rail etc.
The increase in taxes, she noted, is an indirect way of decreasing public sector income. The central message in her answers was"if we don't change our spending habits things will get worse!
Lawson said as a people we should reduce our flagrant spending and arrest our thirst for luxurious goods. "Lets cut down on our wasteful social behavior, she said, a lot of the rich in Nigeria are not investing in the country. They prefer to invest in other countries whereas many of them get free money from politics and deals that they do not really work for.
The Interview was conducted by Jimi Disu Live on LagosTalks91.3fm in Lagos