Do governments have,\u00a0or have not,\u00a0business in business?\u00a0There are contending\u00a0perspectival\u00a0answers to this\u00a0question\u00a0used as a title for this article.\u00a0
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Irrespective of\u00a0the merits and\/or\u00a0demerits of\u00a0any of\u00a0those views,\u00a0it\u00a0is constantly said\u00a0in\u00a0the\u00a0public\u00a0domain\u00a0that the main purpose\u00a0of\u00a0having a government \u2013\u00a0whatever\u00a0way it is looked at \u2013\u00a0is for the security and welfare of the human beings\u00a0that such government\u00a0is set up to superintend over. It\u00a0may, therefore,\u00a0be\u00a0assumed that\u00a0the\u00a0civil and human rights including\u00a0legally allowed properties\u00a0of those people,being so governed,\u00a0should also be protected.\u00a0
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Here, we are deliberately (but\u00a0reluctantly) limiting our argument to societies built\u00a0for\u00a0onlyhumans!\u00a0We agree that\u00a0\u201clower\u00a0animals\u201d\u00a0do have\u00a0their\u00a0rights,\u00a0too!\u00a0In answering the question\u00a0asked earlier, there is the\u00a0tendency to take the approaches\u00a0by the\u00a0legalists or moralists and\/or\u00a0a\u00a0blend\u00a0of both!
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After all,\u00a0we are\u00a0simply\u00a0talking about\u00a0humans,\u00a0here; this is where the issuesare, worldwide!\u00a0What are we trying\u00a0to say here?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As an example, let us use\u00a0the investments of public resources\u00a0by the State (we mean government)\u00a0in business. In Nigeria, what became of such\u00a0initially-flourishing\u00a0investments,\u00a0over succeeding years,\u00a0are progressively progressive\u00a0ruination\u00a0while\u00a0there are still\u00a0such similar\u00a0investments, by the State\u00a0in some other climes, currently waxing stronger in productivity.\u00a0As earlier-said, we are\u00a0talking about human\u00a0beings,\u00a0here; same\u00a0Homo<\/em>\u00a0sapiens<\/em>\u00a0sapiens<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before\u00a0we go far in this discussion, it is important that we\u00a0clarify\u00a0that\u00a0every\u00a0society has its history, and\u00a0current realities, influenced by past experiences and current priorities. We will not\u00a0digress far into\u00a0the roles\u00a0of followers and\u00a0leadership\u00a0types\u00a0in the whole mix. Simplistically,\u00a0there are\u00a0many\u00a0countries where public assets and investments are perceived as nobody\u2019s\u00a0and without reliable organic institutional framework\/capacity\u00a0to\u00a0ensure\u00a0their\u00a0future\u00a0survival. In such countries,\u00a0the narrative \u201cgovernments have\u00a0no business in business\u201d will appear logical, convincing and as an easy-way-out solution,\u00a0when\u00a0the cause of the problem (if it is seen as such) is deliberately shied away from.\u00a0 Consequently, several\u00a0ideologies that\u00a0clearly\u00a0point\u00a0to,\u00a0and encourage,\u00a0private acquisitions\u00a0of\u00a0public assets and investments,\u00a0as the solutions\u00a0to the ruins,\u00a0we earlier alluded to,\u00a0areadvanced, mostly\u00a0with inconsideratedness. This is unminding\u00a0the\u00a0risksof these acquisitions benefiting\u00a0only\u00a0a\u00a0few; although,\u00a0some of\u00a0theseideologies have\u00a0been positively exploited by\u00a0countries with the abilityto build enduring institutional capacities\u00a0for protecting their people\u00a0against\u00a0an\u00a0ever-increasing\u00a0voraciousness for private wealthaccumulation.\u00a0 To be fair to the capitalists, who\u00a0are mostly legalists,\u00a0all they see is statistics and how that is turned to (private) wealth. That is how they are wired\u00a0or rewired;\u00a0moralists\u00a0may\u00a0fault this attribute.Basically, a moralist tends to be a socialist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is, therefore,\u00a0a collective\u00a0responsibility of the\u00a0people to\u00a0get their priorities right and\u00a0work towards ensuring\u00a0enactment\u00a0of enforceable laws,\u00a0be part of,\u00a0and insist on,\u00a0supportive\u00a0systems\u00a0that\u00a0entrench\u00a0moral rectitude without loosing sight of the need to\u00a0encourage and sustainably sustain the protection of\u00a0public\u00a0and private\u00a0properties\u00a0and investments.\u00a0 These\u00a0properties\u00a0and investments\u00a0(including\u00a0those resulting from\u00a0public-private partnerships)\u00a0are necessary for a forward-looking society\u00a0that is interested in the\u00a0security, welfare and development of\u00a0its\u00a0members.\u00a0Unfortunately, this capacity is\u00a0currently lacking\u00a0in Nigeria not only because of \u201ccorruption\u201d but also \u201cpoverty\u201d. We\u00a0do not want to engage in the arguments concerning which of the two is a causative factor of the other. However, we believe that both\u00a0factors are important for solution-seeking in\u00a0politico-economic\u00a0discussions.\u00a0 Of course, the leadership cadre that is very much likely to\u00a0support and\u00a0power\u00a0policies that benefit the majority\u00a0is the one that is populated or\u00a0firmly\u00a0controlled by\u00a0\u2018statesmen\/women\u2019rather than\u00a0gluttonous\u00a0politicians\u00a0only interested\u00a0in\u00a0their stomach! As it is\u00a0commonly\u00a0said\u00a0\u2018statesmen\/women\u2019\u00a0think of the next generation while most present-day politicians in Nigeria think of the next election.\u00a0The latter are\u00a0strictly\u00a0into \u2018business\u2019; Nigeria\u2019s future does not matter to them!\u00a0To prevent ambiguity in the use of qualifying terms, statesmen\/women \u2013\u00a0as\u00a0used here \u2013\u00a0are\u00a0also\u00a0politicians\u00a0but theythink about the possibility of making life better for\u00a0the\u00a0next\u00a0and unborn generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those in government are most likely a reflection of the society within which they operate; although, that may not be the whole story because the followers may be victims of state capture by those few. These victims may yearn for better living conditions, but without positive actions, that is where it ends! Talk is cheap. Now, back to the question earlier asked as the title of this article. It is the experience (even in those countries considered \u201cdeveloped\u201d) that once public assets and investments are left without strong and constantly strengthened sustainable organic institutions that protect them, they are collapsed and ruined! Why will you blame those who come forward to acquire(legally) these ruined inheritances cheaply? Business is business! Well, in many of the \u2018deals\u2019 (like the current shameless politics being played in the country) laws and morals do not seem to haveintersection, unfortunately! The institutions that are to protect public assets and investments, if available, do get deliberately weakened by successive crooks in public offices and eventually (through their cronies and fronts) they become beneficiaries of the resulting collapse and ruins we have just made allusion to. This is a sad reality! Once the people fail, or allow themselves to be incapacitated in order to be unable, to protect their good inheritances, then the argument \u201cgovernments have no business in business\u201d will be difficult to defeat! Moralists should take note of this! Nonetheless, \u201cgovernments do havebusiness in business\u201d \u2013 in some ways \u2013 even in capitalistic countries!<\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, governments in the United States subsidise agricultureand energy in that country. However instead of tackling the massive \u201ccorruption\u201d in its petroleum \u201csubsidy\u201d regime, the Nigerian federal government removed it abruptly in May, 2023. Who says \u201ccorruption\u201d has now stopped as a result of local increases in prices of imported refined petroleum products? To us, it is all about increasing the price!It is now being insinuated that something like \u201csubsidy\u201d on petrol is back through the \u2018backdoor\u2019 in Nigeria as a result of the recent unpredictable but never-to-be-unexpected volatility in international crude oil prices! Where are those fictitious \u201cmarket forces\u201d being talked about in Nigeria? Is there the enabling environment for investments in local refining capacities by private entities? This is about the only crude oil exporting country without any working local refinery, thereby, importing refined petroleum products for its local consumption! This absurdity is supposed to be senseless; but this is Nigeria, a confused contraption, led over the years by groups of people with rentier mentality! Sensible Nigerians should be ashamed! We hope that the ongoing Israel-Hamas (Palestine) war will not worsen the current local challenges regarding stability in prices of petroleum products for local consumption. Whichever side anyone belongs to, in this kind of discussion, it should be noted that politics influences the economy. So, if good living conditions are desired bythe majority, then their politics must be fixed to achieve this aim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n *<\/strong>Andrew A. Erakhrumen currently teaches at the Department of Forest Resources and Wildlife Management, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Do governments have,\u00a0or have not,\u00a0business in business?\u00a0There are contending\u00a0perspectival\u00a0answers to this\u00a0question\u00a0used as a title for this article.\u00a0 Irrespective of\u00a0the merits and\/or\u00a0demerits of\u00a0any of\u00a0those views,\u00a0it\u00a0is constantly said\u00a0in\u00a0the\u00a0public\u00a0domain\u00a0that the main purpose\u00a0of\u00a0having a government \u2013\u00a0whatever\u00a0way it is looked at \u2013\u00a0is for the security and welfare of the human beings\u00a0that such government\u00a0is set up to superintend over. It\u00a0may, therefore,\u00a0be\u00a0assumed<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8720,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[4961,4156,4379,4146,4163,4225],"class_list":["post-11828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-context","tag-andrew-a-erakhrumen","tag-current-news-in-nigeria","tag-government","tag-news-analysis","tag-nigeria","tag-nigerian-newspapers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/modusoperandum.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/modusoperandum.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/modusoperandum.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modusoperandum.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modusoperandum.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11828"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/modusoperandum.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11828\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11829,"href":"https:\/\/modusoperandum.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11828\/revisions\/11829"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modusoperandum.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/modusoperandum.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modusoperandum.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modusoperandum.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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