Some stakeholders in the land have stressed the need for governments at all levels to take proactive measures, through relevant policy formulation, to bail the economy from impending collapse.
The stakeholders expressed the opinion in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital recently at the unveiling of the second edition of the South-West Local Governments Agriculture and Mineral Resources Trade Fair 2022 Prospectus organised by BTG Africa.
In his address on the occasion, the former Nigerian Ambassador to the Philippines, Dr Yemi Farounbi, urged the Federal Government to promote industry across all the local government council areas in the country in a bid to redirect the economy.
According to him, small scale industries should be encouraged to contribute to economic growth through production or manufacturing of products for local consumption and exportation.
Farounbi stated that “All we need to do for our economy to grow is to look at the mineral resources and agricultural produces in each Local Government Area.
“Instead of exporting them as raw materials, they should be refined and processed to develop our economy.”
He recalled that “In 1970, Nigeria and Malaysia were at the same level of development but while Malaysia developed its agriculture to build its economy, Nigeria relies solely on crude oil export and remains a consuming nation. Today, Malaysia economy has grown while we are going backward.
“Nigeria has no working refinery so it exports its crude oil and imports crude products. However, Venezuela, another oil producing nation, has 27 refineries and exports only processed oil for higher profit margin.”
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State who was represented on the occasion by his Executive Assistant, Rev. Idowu Ogedengbe, said that the state was poised for development at the grassroots.
This, he said, was why the administration committed huge resources to opening up of roads in the hinterland across the state.
Aside from road construction and infrastructural development, he stated that training of youth was prioritized, adding, “We are tackling insecurity to engender development.”
Makinde stressed that in an effort to reposition agriculture in the state, the government sent officials to Netherlands to explore opportunities on how to develop the agricultural potentials of the state with the Dutch government.
He added that the state had trained more than 10,000 youths in various aspects of agriculture.
The Commissioner for Agriculture in Ekiti State, Dr Adetoyi Olabode, said that to give bite to the nation’s economy, secondary production must be enhanced across all zones.
Unless this is done, he said that the country’s economy would continue to hemorrhage.
Stressing the importance of agriculture, he said, “Naira will continue to fall unless we go back to agriculture and reduce post-harvest losses, which is high currently so high.”
The Chairman of Ilaji Hotels and Resort, Chief Dotun Sanusi, who was represented on the occasion by Ademola Alabi, Public Relations/Marketing Manager of the company, said that proffering solutions to the challenges besetting the country would aid development.
The Baale of Ekotedu, a community in Ibadan, Elder Taye Ayorinde, said that “Before now, we had industry in the South-West. The Western Region was standalone as the best among the rest. When I was growing up, I knew the region to stand out, but unfortunately, most companies have gone to the dust because of the jaundiced political system and because of the fraudulent system.”
Commissioner of Trades and Investment in Ekiti State, Dr Adetoye Ezekiel, and
Omolara Adebayo, his counterpart in Ogun State, made reference to the sense of devotion of Nigerians in time past, lamenting that lack of patriotism had rubbished the vision of lifting the country to position of pride.
The Head, Special Projects and Funding, DAWN Commission, Adedayo Adeleke Adedoyin, said, “For us as a region, we cannot tell our story without agriculture. The Commission was set up to look at opportunities and agriculture is one of our vocal areas.
“One of the things that we lack in the region is data. We have been cataloging our mineral resources to unleash our potentials.”
Dele Ayanleke, National Secretary, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, said, “In the days of our father, the development of the country was hinged on agriculture. We have to take the discussion beyond the level of rhetorics. Chinese government is mopping up lithium in Nigeria. Why are we exporting the raw materials? Why not invite the experts to come and set up processing companies here?”
In an interview with journalists, the co-founder of BTG Africa, Delight Owoyemi, organisers of the event, said that it was imperative to harness the resources in Nigeria at the grassroots for required development to take place.
Owoyemi said that “Once hunger is addressed, most of the issues facing the nation would be addressed. Every Local Government Council Area has something to contribute to the GDP of the country and this extends to the states.
“The second edition of the regional exhibition would hold between September 2 and September 11.”
Highlighting the success of the previous edition of the fair held in Osun in 2021, Owoyemi said that among others, it was positioned to create employment opportunities and wealth for the South-West zone.
Among others in attendance, the programme was attended by local government chairmen in Oyo State, led by the state ALGON Chairman, Sanda Sikiru; the representatives of state governments in the South-West, officials of the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria, captains of industry and other stakeholders.
