ONITSHA — IGBO traders and businessmen have cried out over what
they described as the recent harsh economic policies introduced by the Federal
Government, saying that such policies were allegedly introduced to
cripple their businesses across the country. A vox pop conducted by
the South East Voice across the five states of the region showed that
the traders were angry with the Federal Government for introducing the $5,000
Basic Traveling Allowance, BTA, as well as for making Kano State the
“clearing house for all imported goods in the country.”
Those, who spoke at separate
interviews, also, faulted the ban on importation of certain commodities
like shoes and other agricultural products. They said that efforts should
have been made to encourage local producers instead of banning them without
warning.
The Ogirishi of Igboland,
Chief Rommy Ezeonwuka, who spoke in Onitsha, said that although it was good for
the government to ban the importation of furniture, toothpicks and rice,
among others, the policy should have been carried out in phases to enable local
producers come to terms with the situation.
“It is an insult to import textiles
into this country while our textile industries are not flourishing. But the
current government policies are targeted at suppressing Ndigbo as a
race. Such policies include the current clamp-down on foreign exchange and
making Kano the clearing ground for imported goods. How can one leave Port
Harcourt or Lagos and travel to the extreme north to clear his goods? These are
wrong policies because they will discourage local and foreign investments.
“In the same vein, the Buhari’s
regime is not observing the constitutional provisions for federal character in
political appointments. The government is also discriminating against Ndigbo in
the area of execution of projects as the South East Zone is excluded in the
provision of social amenities. This is very bad.
Buhari should focus on achieving
uninterrupted electricity supply. The government should even encourage building
of indigenous private refineries rather than relying on the oil cabals, who are
deceiving the government and making life unbearable for the entire citizenry,
Onwuka who is also the proprietor of Rojenny Sports Resort, said.
In his contribution, Chief Gilbert
Bravo Obi, chairman, Nigerian Importers Association, Anambra State branch said:
“We heard that President Buhari wants to transfer the clearing house for all
imported goods to Kano. Since he assumed office, traders have not been finding
things easy. There is no more importation business in Nigeria, and you know,
that majority of importers are Ndigbo.
Importation business
However, I must emphasize that it is
still too early to draw a conclusion that Buhari’s policies are either
favourable to Ndigbo or not, or that they are favourable to business
environment or not. At Nnewi, the Publicity Secretary of Anambra State
Traders Association, Dede Uzor Uzor said that, “the government of President
Muhammadu Buhari has stayed for over six months now, adding that it had hit him
adversely as a businessman.
“The economic policies of the
present administration has affected me personally; as a businessman, who trades
on textile materials and pharmaceutical products. The administration
introduced the policy of $5,000 as BTA. That means that you can only travel
outside Nigeria with only $5,000. Tell me how a trader, who imports from
overseas can survive with such amount of money. It is not possible for a trader
to survive with that amount, after paying over N200, 000 for your air ticket.
“The government knows those
siphoning money to their overseas bank accounts, but has left them to pounce on
ordinary traders, who are doing their businesses in order to hamper their
operations. The other time about seven Onitsha main market traders were
arrested and their money seized because of their alleged involvement in money
laundering. What money laundering? “Tell me how a trader can survive in this
present administration with this policy of $5,000 as BTA?
“So, the government of President
Buhari is not helping traders. This government is killing us, quote me. The
traders are crying, so he should review the policy because it is affecting everybody.
Nigerians are suffering because of that policy, because if it does not affect
you as a trader or importer, it will affect you as a consumer.
Big time traders
“Nigerians are crying over the high
prize of goods and services, which have skyrocketed to high heavens. The
average man on the street is crying. Buhari should discard that policy because
about 80 per cent of Nigerians are either petty traders or big time traders
while 20 or 30 per cent are civil servants. Tell me how these people can survive
when Nigeria does not produce anything; virtually nothing, so in
situations like this the government should listen to the yearnings of the
people.
“Democracy is supposed to be
government of the people by the people and for the people, but this one is government
of the people by the people, against the people. This is man’s inhumanity
against man. This is economic blockade and President Buhari must review the bad
policy or other policies that are not just against the people but the
economy. “Nigerians know those who have stolen their money. Buhari knows
those who have stolen Nigeria’s money.
“He should go after them and not
traders who have not occupied any government offices or done any government
jobs or contracts. We have been suffering over the years; doing our buying and
selling businesses. Some of us have graduated from small scale businesses to
importers and now you want to kill our businesses with one policy that somebody
just woke up and introduced. This has made people to abandon their businesses. It
is inhuman. The policy lacks human face.
Dr Okey Umeano, an industrialist,
medical doctor and a politician said that the Federal Government
was not serious with any economic policy that would lead the country to
prosperity. What they are doing is trial by error. The government is still
grappling with the issue of petroleum subsidy and there is no economic
direction yet by the government. When they come up with one, we will know.
“It is unfortunate that during the
government of former President Goodluck Jonathan, some people were against
petroleum subsidy; those people criticized it and even sponsored protests
against Jonathan over subsidy. “Those people who were against Jonathan
must be ashamed of themselves now .We are waiting for them to come out and criticize
the present government for removing petroleum subsidy.
“Actually, this government surprised
us with its $5000 BTA policy for business travels among others. Those who
introduced that policy are wicked. The policy is aimed at witch haunting some
people, but at the end of the day they have used it to cripple the economy of
some people but everybody is now suffering. When you bring up such policies,
you have to introduce measures to cushion the effects. We are not producing
some of the things that they are discouraging people from importing into the
country.”
Mr Rob Emeka Eze, a small scale
industrialist and movie producer also spoke on the issue. He said, “The
economic policy of the present administration has succeeded in crippling the
economy. I do not know how they came up with some of these economic policies.
Sometimes, I do wonder the type of economic advisers the present administration
has. They are misleading the government. President Buhari should listen to the
yearning of the masses and reverse some of these economic policies that are
killing the economy. They are crippling the economy; we are not doing anything
these days.
“We believe that they are
experimenting with these economic policies with the hope of dropping some of
the ones that are not working, like the $5000 BTA. They have crippled our
businesses with that policy and it is affecting everybody I hope they will
review it.”
Economic policies
Mr Alphonsus Eze Okete, who trades
on kernel also criticised the present economic policies which he said had
“locked down the country for six months now, saying that people were now being
arrested for swallowing foreign currencies at airports instead of drugs because
of the harsh economic policies of the Federal Government.
“The whole thing was meant to cripple the Igbo.
That is why people have now resorted to smuggling the dollar and other
currencies instead of hard drugs. It is like cutting your nose to spite your
face. We have taken ourselves back by 50 years and this is
ridiculous. “What traders do now is to collect money among themselves and
smuggle same through couriers. That is the reason for the upsurge in the
trafficking on the dollar and other currencies, Eze added.Source: Vanguardngr