FG’s lack of trust in experts responsible for Nigeria’s economic woes, says Eleazu

…Calls for massive industrialisation to increase production, stem poverty levels

Innocent Eleazu, a professor and the outgoing president of the Nigerian Association of Economists (NAE), has observed that authorities of the Nigerian state, have continuously refused to take advice from indigenous experts, especially those in international development finance and economic management, towards bettering the nation’s environment and people.

Eleazu, a United States of America (USA)-based consultant, said that the country’s woes got to high levels when the late President Muhammadu Buhari administration, refused to accept recommendations from his group, on how to lead the economy out of recession in 2021.

He also noted that the administration refused to embark on massive agriculture and industrialisation to increase production at the local level to check inflation, but turned round to devalue the Naira, as well as embark on printing new notes.

“Those policies of that administration, including current floating of the Naira by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration exacerbated existing recession and poverty levels of Nigerians,” Eleazu said.

Eleazu, who turned 90 years on April 15, 2026, argued that floating of the Naira without embarking on serious industrialisation triggered a cycle of socio-economic instability.

He said that his 40 years as the leader of NAE, achieved so much for the wellbeing of the country and its citizens, citing a prompt warning to the federal government in 2021, of an impending famine in the country and another advice in 2025, to allocate a substantial amount to the agricultural sector with an urge for government to embark on technology based agriculture nationwide, both of which according to him, were not adhered to.

On what the Nigeria Association of Economists (NAE) achieved during my 40 years of leadership, he said: “Let me mention just a few. In 2021, after an NAE National Conference at the Imo Concorde Hotel, Owerri, we warned the Federal Government of an impending famine in the country.

“Also, in 2025, the association advised the government to allocate a substantial amount of money to the agricultural sector and embark on technology-based agriculture nationwide.”

He regretted that “had government heeded to NAE advice, the hyperinflation, experienced today in Nigeria, would have been avoided.”

Reminding the authorities on the way things are done in other countries, Eleazu, recalled a situation in which a one-time American president, John F. Kennedy, during his tenure, summoned American scientists and challenged them with the task of sending a man to the moon, which they heeded and accomplished within one year.

“The Nigerian authorities should borrow a leaf from other countries’ whose leaders use indigenous experts to grow and sustain their economic growth and citizens wellbeing.

“We in academics, know that if you do not challenge a student, he will not produce any good results. This is why we challenge students to write thesis or dissertation before an award of a degree.”

He advised the government to prioritise industrial development that would lead to immediate increase in production, thereby strengthening the economy and potentially mitigating arising needs for future currency devaluation.

“This approach suggests a long-term strategy centered on domestic economic growth and self-sufficiency,” he said.