WHO OWNS THE NATION’S WEALTH?

The debate over economic policy and ownership has taken on renewed urgency as citizens worldwide grapple with economic insecurity, inequality, and declining trust in institutions. In Nigeria, a vast nation rich in resources, one in every two people are living in poverty, with inadequate public services and persistent insecurity plaguing the country. The National Bureau of Statistics reported that 133 million Nigerians, or roughly 63 percent of the surveyed population in 2022, were multidimensionally poor.

The prevailing economic doctrine, which asserts that market forces and private ownership generally yield greater efficiency than government management, has profoundly shaped public policy for decades. This philosophy gained political momentum through the market-oriented ideas of Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman, as well as the reforms championed by Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. It later influenced structural adjustment programs, privatization efforts, and the Washington Consensus.

While acknowledging the potential benefits of private investment in introducing capital, technology, competition, and managerial discipline, a crucial question arises: should the transfer of public assets into private hands be considered a form of economic reform? Based on the underlying assumption that the government's role is solely to sell off its holdings, this reductionist perspective fails to address the root causes of inefficiency, corruption, and poor management that plague many public enterprises.

The privatization paradox emerges when the first responsibility of leadership—confronting institutional failures—takes a backseat to the transaction of asset disposal. Private investors employ professional managers, enforce budgets, maintain financial discipline, and demand accountability. However, these practices may not necessarily be inherent to private ownership and can also be applied to competent public institutions.

Viable alternatives to privatization exist, as demonstrated by Norway and Singapore. These nations retain significant ownership stakes in strategic industries, while also implementing professional management and commercial discipline. Norway, for instance, maintains a 67 percent ownership stake in Equinor, alongside major energy enterprises like Statkraft, which continue to be publicly owned.

Similarly, Singapore's combination of state investment institutions, commercial enterprise, and deliberate housing policy has fostered a strong sense of shared national development among its citizens, with more than three-quarters of resident households living in public housing and over 91 percent owning their homes.