Despite the oil wealth accruing to Nigeria yearly, the entrepreneurial class, and the vast majority of impoverished citizens are constantly improvising for survival.
Sancho Nwobuisi Chukwu, professor of Monetary Economics and International Finance at the Rivers State University (RSU), Port Harcourt, said the situation is made worse by the conflicts raging across the various geopolitical zones of the country.
Chukwu, while delivering the 119th Inaugural Lecture of the university, titled: ‘Dynamics of Ehianomic Economy, The Loses And Nigerian Experience,’ said greater investment in peace building mechanisms will guarantee effective national development and curb the various conflicts in the country.
He pointed out that economic crises, terrorism and other forms of conflicts in the country have brought unbearable consequences on the people, leaving fractured communities and stalled socio-economic development in their wake, while recommending the institution of peace building mechanisms to promote economic planning and development.
Chukwu noted that institutionalizing peace within the Nigerian economic framework ensures that development is built on strong foundations.
“By treating peace as a public good essential to investment, productivity, and national cohesion, Nigeria can move from managing crises to prevention, turning potential conflict zones into engines of inclusive prosperity,” he said.
The lecturer said that wars and other forms of conflicts impose costs on all sectors of the economy particularly those who depends on stability of investments, adding that the multiple episodes of conflicts has inflicted severe economic consequences on families, individuals and organisation.
Chukwu said wars, insurgency and other forms of national unrests leads to displacement of families, individuals and organisations and destroys critical national assets and infrastructure.
He explained that conflicts induced displacement has had devastating effects on labour markets, educational attainment and economic productivity, adding that the ripple consequences of dislocating families and fragmenting communities in the country.
He further identified ordinary Nigerians, whom he described as the dispossessed majority, as the ultimate and greatest losers who he said bears the brunt of conflicts and macroeconomic instability in the country as against the political class, power brokers, contractors and urban elites among others who benefits from redistributed resources arising from the socioeconomic dislocations.
Chukwu pointed out that in the midst of several economic and social conflicts Nigerians has continued to devise and chart alternative resilient methodologies for survival and adaptations to prevailing situations in the country.
He described Ahianomics as not a mere terminology but a paradigm, an economic consciousness rooted in adaptability and survival, adding that it describes an ecosystem where households, entrepreneur and institutions are perpetually in the process of economic improvisation for survival.
“In this model, resilience is currency and survival is strategic. It is an economy where formal structures often give way to informal ingenuity and where scarcity breeds not just innovations but a redefinition of value itself,” he said.
Chukwu told newsmen that Ahianomics depicts the social ills in the Nigerian society, an invasion of the human society where everybody are in the search for means of survival, to make ends meet, due to the poor economic policies, infrastructure deficit, and the government’s inability to sustain equitable health care and lack of educational opportunities in the country.
He further called on the government at all levels to invest in employment generation urging local governments to build industries and factories with products of comparative advantage.
The lecturer who condemned the quality of empowerment programmes being initiated by the political class for the vulnerable in the society advised that people should be taught how to fish rather than giving them pieces meal as empowerment.
“Politics is now the means of survival. Without politics, nothing comes on the table. So I urge our leaders to ensure that everything goes round. In a situation where one person accumulates more wealth than others is painful. Government should see how we can accommodate our brothers and sisters to be better of,” he said.
