I HAD in an earlier brief evaluation of the 2016 Appropriations proposal, as presented by President Muhammadu Buhari on December 22, 2015, euphemistically referred to it as “Only half a budget.” Quite frankly, it is much less than that. It is embarrassing that a supposed serious-minded Federal Government could present such a visionless and incomplete national budget proposal to the nation. Barely two weeks after the $38 per barrel of crude oil benchmarked budget was presented, the prices of the commodity fell by over $10 per barrel. It was as though the crude oil market was intent on making a jest of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Stakeholders in the Nigerian economy should feel doubly concerned that the Federal Government evidently needed international guidance even on elementary issues as the benchmark prices of internationally traded commodities. Is anyone still wondering why the submitted hard and soft copies of the 2016 budget proposal allegedly suddenly disappeared from the vaults of the National Assembly, shortly after top executives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) came calling on the Federal Government? As though adding salt to injury, the IMF boss averred, rather patronisingly, that she would upon returning to Washington send her economic team to Nigeria to guide (her very word) the Nigerian Federal Government on the 2016 budget.

(Mademoiselle Lagarde, Nigeria is not a French colony). Then, unexpectedly, the Central Bank decided to ease up on some of its foreign exchange restrictions; that, to me, is yet another unassailable evidence of IMF goading. This could also be the beginning of a step downward spiral for the Nigerian economy because when the Bretton Woods Institutions go for a penny they never fail to go for the pound. Yet in the face of all this, eloquent government spokesperson regaled Nigerians with oldwives’ tales that it is not the usual business of running the Nigerian economy from Washington DC. Really, is the target audience that gullible? I do not see that it is, but that puzzle needn’t distract our attention from the serious matter of the moment: The need to extensively rework the 2016 National Appropriations proposal.

This write-up has limited itself to sectors of the economy that have the potential to upstage petroleum oil in revenues generation and job creation.

Agriculture

Since the Jonathan Administration, the phrase value-chain has become a fancy compound word when discussing agriculture, it is therefore, time Nigerians knew in clear terms the aggregate annual revenue from our value-added or processed agricultural exports. Agriculture alone once financed the Nigerian economy; it is also still the largest employer of labour in Nigeria.

Fisheries

With over 800 kilometres of coastline on the Atlantic Ocean, Nigeria ought to be a net exporter of fish. In an era of rapidly dwindling revenues from crude oil, the 2016 budget can ill-afford to treat that potential source of revenue with levity.

Solid Minerals

Solid minerals is said to contribute approximately 5five per cent of total national revenue. Having regard to the 40-odd proven solid minerals that abound in Nigeria, we should be posting a higher figure in the sector. The 2016 budget proposal should provide details on both the current and projected revenues from all solid minerals.

Tourism

Not long ago the minister of information and culture made a theatre of the fact that some nations survive largely on revenues from tourism. Nigeria could be one of such countries, the minister postulated, because she could offer as many cultural carnivals as there are days in a year (!) He was, therefore, going to make Nigeria a tourists destination. Budget 2016 didn’t reflect that thought-provoking ministerial postulation. This is yet a significant omission. The ministry of information and culture should match words with evident action in the revised 2016 Appropriations proposal.

Petroleum Gas

It is true that the demand for petroleum oil is fast on the decline, but it is also true that the demand for petroleum gas is on the increase, particularly in Europe in recent years. (Look to the ongoing gas-supply-inspired crises in eastern Europe) The Israeli Government provides an exemplary lead in that petroleum subsector; Israel is aggressively fighting to double her share of global gas market. Nigeria, a proven global gas province, launched a $30 billion Gas Master Plan a couple of years back; how does that Master Plan fit into the 2016 budget? What is Nigeria’s current revenue from petroleum gas? What does that translate into in global market share? And what is the country’s projected revenues from petroleum gas in the foreseeable future?

Foreign Reserves versus Infrastructure

Huge foreign currencies reserve enhances a country’s credit rating, which leads to increased potential foreign investment. The converse side of foreign reserves is limited infrastructural development and its concomitants. On the other hand, massive infrastructural development provides conductive business space: stable and affordable power and energy supply; cheap cost of transportation; healthy workforce; security, etc. all of which enhance foreign investment and employment. Thusly, this situation calls for an enlightened balancing act, all the more so in the light of emerging global reality. Africa, more so, Nigeria has become an inevitable investment destination due to the inexorable pressure of rapidly diminishing industrial space. So, is it in Nigeria’s overall interest to continue to hold tens of billions of dollars in foreign vaults when her infrastructural deficit runs in the tens of billions of dollars? The worthiness of the adopted 2016 budget would depend on the quality of answers it proffers to the foregoing and other key questions respecting the Nigerian beleaguered economy.

• Afam Nkemdiche is an Engineering Consultant in Abuja.