President Muhammadu Buhari has assured Nigerians that his administration will be taking more pragmatic steps to improve the nation’s economy and boost the living condition of her citizens in the next few months.
The president’s statement may not be unconnected with the passage of the 2016 appropriation budget, which has over N3 trillion dedicated to the funding of capital projects, which if implemented, could trigger a chain of productive activities in the economy.
Speaking yesterday at the 8th Colloquium held in honour of the former Lagos State governor and national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Buhari said his government’s desire was to invest heavily in human capital development as a step to reduce high-level poverty. The colloquium, which was part of the activities marking Tinubu’s 64th birthday, had as its theme – “Agriculture: Action, Work, Revolution”.
Diversifying the nation’s economy, Buhari noted, can no longer be a slogan, given the current economic realities facing Nigeria. “As the nation grapples with decades of dependence and profligacy of natural resources and the coincidence of shrinking of oil prices, the chickens have, indeed, come home to roost.
Diversifying the economy can no longer be a slogan. It has become a necessity. Economic growth cannot just be for the lucky few at the top, it has to be broad-based, for every Nigerian citizen, and a good place to start is with the agricultural sector. “We face urgent challenges – tackling insecurity, creating jobs, addressing the country’s balance of payments and stimulating and sustaining national economic recovery.
But even as we deal with these issues, I know it is also important, and indeed critical to focus on the pressing challenge that confronts some millions of our men, women and children around the country – the injustice of hunger and the need for long-term food security,” he said.
According to Buhari, Nigerians will, in the coming months, see much more actions, as the government will continue to invest substantially in human capital development. He beckoned on more companies willing to invest in the country to do so, assuring them of the safety of their investments. “We are going to hold ourselves accountable. We will measure results.
There will always be some scepticism, some have even become disorientated and impatient enough to think that barriers are insurmountable. Anyone who claim great change is impossible can only look as an ordinary success,” he said.
Buhari said Tinubu possesses some unique qualities that have contributed immensely to the growth of Nigeria. He noted that there were very few patriots alive today that could match the qualities of Tinubu in his contribution to national growth.
Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, who delivered a keynote address at the colloquium, disclosed that the federal government would soon deliver five million tractors to farmers to boost mechanisation of agriculture and intensify the diversification of the economy. Ogbeh, who was represented by the Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, lamented that mass importation of food over the years has made Nigeria a dumping ground for substandard products to the detriment of the farmers and citizens. On import substitution, the minister said that the government would revive the production of staple foods like sorghum, rice, wheat, groundnuts and cocoa for local consumption as well as for export.
According to him, soon Nigerian farmers would be able to access microcredit at low interest rates to boost their capacity to engage in meaningful agriculture. In his remarks at the event, Tinubu said that the historic victory secured by his party in the 2015 general elections had placed a heavy responsibility on the party to right the wrongs of the past years.
Tinubu acknowledged that though the last 10 months have been tough owing to the crash in the price of crude oil, Nigeria’s main revenue earner and the harsh economic realities the situation has brought, he was optimistic that APC’s emergence as the ruling party at this time was for good reasons and not a mere coincidence. “Our path may be tough at present. But I do not entertain fear because I know our people are more resilient than the challenges we face.
Thus, I also ask the people to be of firm conviction and strong hope that we are working for and moving toward a better day. I believe in destiny. “Yes, the times that have come upon us are rough.
Yet, I cannot help but believe that we have been put here at this appointed place and appointed time for a reason more profound than mere coincidence,” he said. Tinubu said that the lack of performance by the previous administration was the sole reason for the emergence of the APC, stressing that the new government was committed to reversing the trend towards a positive and progressive outcome. “Those who came before us believed in weak governance but strong corruption.
They were the authors of the malfeasance and ruthless indifference that enchained this nation and its remarkable people. They acted as if their pilferage would never end. But it was ended by the people of this great country,” he said.
The Tinubu Colloquium, which is an annual event, was attended by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and his wife, Dolapo, National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie- Oyegun; former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Malam Nuhu Ribadu; Oba of Lagos, Alhaji Rilwan Akiolu, Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Alhaji Ado Ibrahim and Alhaji Lagep Ibrahim, the Emir of Kazaure. Other guests include Governors Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi), Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Rochas Okorocha (Imo), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Jibrilla Bindow (Adamawa), Mohammed Badaru (Jigawa), Ben Ayade (Cross River), Muhammed Abubakar (Bauchi), Akinwumi Ambode (Lagos), Nasir el-Rufai (Kaduna) and Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo).
