>
Former Lagos State governor and a national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinibu, has offered three key suggestions to the Federal Government in its push to bring Nigeria completely out of recession.
Tinubu offered the ideas in a speech delivered during the presentation of a book titled, “Making Steady, Sustainable Progress”
The book, put together by media aides in the presidency, catalogues the achievement of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration since 2015.
Tinubu hailed the administration on its achievements so far but warned that the accomplishment should not give room for complacency.
His words: “Today, as I stand before you all, I implore him and his government. The good you have started…. do it the more. The good that you have yet to achieve …. get to it with a laser- like focus.”
According to the APC chieftain, “We are inching out of recession but growth must increase. It is time to lead our people to a place where poverty and hunger become infrequent and where prosperity and hope are the daily fare of the common man”.
Below are his words:
There are three key ideas I would like to table before you today.
First, we are among the world’s most populous nations and potentially one of its most powerful. No populous nation has ever attained prosperity without first establishing a robust industrial capacity.
In one form or another, England, America, Japan and China implemented policies to protect key industries, promote employment and encourage exports.
These nations represent the past, present and immediate future of national economic achievement.
If Nigeria is to be a leader in the next phase of global economic history, we must learn from these prior successes. The common thread between these nations was the objective of buffering strategic industries in ways that allows for the expansion and growth of the overall economy.
In this vein, our national industrial revolution plan must be more than mere words. It must be refined and implemented with a laser-like focus. Just as the private sector may partner with government on public endeavours, government must guide and support the private sector into new areas of industry and production.
Government must invest in research and new products the private sector may find risky and uncertain in the initial stage. Government policy must push and incentivise the private sector into the production of goods that will be demanded in the immediate future and for some time to come.
This requires a heretofore unprecedented coordination between the private sector and government.
Whether we focus on steel, textiles, cars, machinery components, processed agricultural goods, other items, or any combination of the above, we must manufacture things the rest of the world wants to buy and not necessarily the things we think are the easiest to do.
Second, as a corollary to the push for industrial maturity, we need a national infrastructural plan that accords with both the industrial plan and with extant agricultural activity. The fulcrum of this plan must be continued progress in the achievement of adequate and affordable electric power, especially solar and winds.
Third, we must help the common farmer by improving rural output and incomes. We must return to commodity exchange boards or similar mechanism to allow farmers to secure their income and hedge against loss. An active and expanded agricultural loan scheme is needed to further promote these goals.
Comments 1