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Nigeria’s situation beyond party politics – Obasanjo

Published

2 years ago

July 28, 2022

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Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said Nigeria’s current degenerating situation is “beyond party politics and requires all hands to be on deck”.

He said the country has lost direction in nation building, insisting that: “As long as we don’t get it right in nation building, we cannot get anything right in this country”.

Obasanjo made the remarks on Wednesday as the special guest of honour at Babcock University’s 20th undergraduate and 11th postgraduate convocation lecture.

The guest lecturer, Kingsley Moghalu, a former deputy governor of the CBN, spoke on the theme; “Knowledge, Vision, Passion and Innovation in the Context of Nigeria’s Development.”

The event was held at the university’s amphitheatre in Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State.

The former president noted that the situation in Nigeria has become so precarious that “no individual can say he or she has a solution to the problems.”

In his lecture, Mr Moghalu noted that the solution to Nigeria’s dire economic situation and foreign exchange crisis is to scale up innovation. He said such intervention can “break the Nigerian economy’s structural dependency as an import- and consumer-driven one.”

READ Policing: Retired police officer shouldn’t head PSC - Obasanjo

He said: “Innovation-driven economies remain competitive, adapting to the needs of the future, while natural resource-dependent economies such as ours risk being left behind by global and market trends and thus condemning our citizens to poverty.

“Nigeria has a national policy in science, technology, and innovation. The federal government has several technology and innovation-related agencies, but these public sector efforts have not yielded any innovation-driven impact on Nigeria’s economy.”

Moghalu, who is now the President of the Institute for Governance and Economic Transformation (IGET), spoke on his presidential campaign in the 2019 election, and how he proposed the establishment of a N500 billion initial capital fund for innovation and start-up businesses, to be managed by the private sector.

“For an innovation-powered economy to rise in Nigeria, we must create a social consensus. Innovation and its practical applications in society must be popularised, and specific conscious awareness of it as a prime path to Nigeria’s development,” he added.

READ 2023: What I told Tinubu – Obasanjo

Moghalu also explained that “to secure our future as a country, Nigeria must increasingly become a knowledge society.”

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) says that knowledge societies are those with the capability to identify, produce, process, transform, disseminate, and use the information to build and apply knowledge for human development.

Speaking further, Moghalu said the wealthiest countries in the world such as Japan, Switzerland, and South Korea, have no natural resources but they have the knowledge to import Nigeria’s natural resources to produce sophisticated products.

He explained that the countries have built a knowledge economy, defined “as one in which intellectual property – knowledge and information systems that drive an ever-increasing pace of scientific and technological advances – is the basis of production and services.”

Moghalu also suggested restructuring as a solution to Nigeria’s economic development because the institutional arrangement where the majority of states depend on the federal government for allocations from natural resource revenues to pay workers’ salaries and provide basic services has had profoundly negative implications for Nigeria’s economy.

READ Nigeria’s inflation rate drops to 18.12%

Related Topics:Kingsley Moghalu Obasanjo

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‘Breach of law’ — Oshiomhole condemns Ododo for ‘rescuing’ Yahaya Bello during EFCC siege

Published

28 mins ago

April 29, 2024

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Adams Oshiomhole, senator representing Edo north, has faulted Usman Ododo, governor of Kogi, for his interference in the saga involving Yahaya Bello and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The EFCC is accusing Bello, immediate-past governor of Kogi, of money laundering and corruption to the tune of N80.2 billion.

BACKGROUND

On April 17, EFCC operatives laid siege to Bello’s Abuja residence in a bid to arrest him for grilling.

While the operatives were at Bello’s residence, Ododo arrived at the scene.

Shortly after Ododo left the residence, the EFCC operatives ended their siege. There were reports that Ododo had surreptitiously whisked Bello away in one of the cars in his convoy.

Amid the drama, the Kogi high court delivered judgment in a fundamental rights enforcement suit, restraining the commission from “harassing, threatening to arrest or detaining” the former governor.

On the same day, the EFCC obtained a warrant of arrest against Bello from a federal high court in Abuja.

READ BREAKING: Obasanjo, Wike, Obi, others meet in London

Subsequently, the anti-graft agency declthe former governor wanted, while the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) placed Bello on a watchlist.

Bello was also absent for an arraignment that was initially scheduled for April 18, citing fear of arrest.

‘WRONG USE OF IMMUNITY’

Speaking on Saturday at the national integration conference, Oshiomhole said Ododo’s “rescue” of Bello and the former governor’s refusal to show up in court constitutes a breach of the law.

The conference which had ‘Revisiting the national question: Nigeria’s elusive search for national integration’ as its theme, was organised by the Kukah Centre.

The senator also urged citizens to speak up against breaches of the law — irrespective of who is involved.

“If you are afraid, given the fact that you are very vocal, you are independent, you cannot be dismissed, you cannot be promoted or demoted… if you are afraid to mention the name of a former governor who breached the law and a sitting governor who used his immunity to cover a governor that lost immunity, where will the courage come from?” Oshiomhole said.

READ Emir of Kano, 139 others escape death as plane engine explodes after bird strike

“This sophistry of saying we can name the child of a poor man who steal(s) a goat but we are afraid to mention the name of a big man who breached the law, that for me is at the root of our problems.”

‘ALL CHILDREN MUST HAVE ACCESS TO EDUCATION’

Bello had also allegedly paid $760,910 in advance fees to the American International School Abuja (AISA), for five of his children from the coffers of the Kogi state government.

The children are in grade levels 2 to 8 at the school.

Oshiomhole said during his spell as Edo governor, his colleagues denied children of the poor access to education.

“As a former governor, I was a member of the national economic council (NEC) where some state governors argued that they did not have the resources to pay 50 percent subsidy in order to ensure that the children of the poor go to school even when those governors are sending their own children abroad,” Oshiomhole added.

READ It's time to step back: Obasanjo advises older politicians step aside

The former Edo governor said leaders must possess the political will to implement laws they enact.

“What I consider to be the most important investment, namely, that never should a child be born in this country and be denied access to go to school,” he said.

Kogi ranked 27th across states in Nigeria with the highest number of out-of-school children (ages 6–15).

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PHOTOS: Lagos commuters stranded as fares spike by 50% amid petrol scarcity

Published

51 mins ago

April 29, 2024

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Commuters in many parts of Lagos were on Monday left stranded at different bus stops in the metropolis, amid the lingering petrol scarcity.

Fares were hiked by 50 percent as motorists filled up dispensing stations for the scarce commodity.

Some filling stations were shuttered, while others still selling petrol were encircled by long queues.

Some motorists said they bought petrol at N700 and N800 per litre at filling stations. Roadside dealers now sell the product for N1000 and N1200 per litre.

The petrol scarcity triggered a 50 percent increase in fares across Lagos.

From Abule Egba roundabout to Agege, commuters were asked to pay N300, which was previously N150 or N200. From Agege to Alausa in Ikeja is now N400, which cost N300 last week.

From Berger to Ikeja, commuters pay as high as N1000 in fares.

In most of the bus stops visited by TheCable on Monday morning, survival of the fittest was the prevailing philosophy as hordes of commuters were seen running after a few commercial buses

READ JUST IN: Despite Supreme Court ruling Buhari insists old N500, N1,000 notes no longer legal tender

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Good morning! Here Are Some Major News Headlines In The Newspapers Today: VGC chairman found dead inside his car in Lagos

Published

7 hours ago

April 29, 2024

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1. A Lagos-based man, Gihan Mbelu, has reportedly died in his vehicle in the Victoria Garden City area of Lagos State on Friday. It was gathered on Sunday that 42-year-old Mbelu had reportedly parked his car, a Mercedes C300 4Matic, running for several hours while he sat motionless in the car.

2. In response to the devastating tanker fire incident in Rivers State, President Bola Tinubu has directed federal agencies to continue providing support to the state government in addressing the aftermath of the tragedy. President Tinubu’s message, contained in a statement issued on Sunday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, also extended his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims of the fire incident.

3. As the demolition of properties along the right of way for the construction of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway begins, the federal government has promised to conduct the process with sensitivity, aiming to minimize disruptions to the lives of those affected.

READ JUST IN: Despite Supreme Court ruling Buhari insists old N500, N1,000 notes no longer legal tender

4. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, says two notorious drug kingpins: Uwaezuoke Ikenna Christian and Agbo Chidike Prince have been sentenced to life imprisonment for dealing in cocaine. Director, Media and Advocacy NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, who disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, said this brings to an end to their years of criminal enterprise of exporting cocaine across continents.

5. No fewer than 40 observers have been deployed by the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, to Togo, ahead of the parliamentary and regional election. The elections have been scheduled for April 29, 2024. This was revealed in a statement by the regional body.

6. Osun State governor, Ademola Adeleke, on Sunday, April 28, warned petrol stations against hoarding of fuel as scarcity hit the state. Adeleke through his chief of staff, Kazeem Akinleye, who is also the chairman, Petroleum Monitoring Taskforce, warned against creating artificial scarcity.

READ Continue spending your old notes — Tinubu will change policy if elected, el-Rufai tells Kaduna traders

7. Former Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, has tackled Northern governors over their recent trip to the United States. In a Facebook post, he said the trip exposed the governors’ ignorance of the country’s constitution. According to him, security is solely the responsibility of the federal government because it is on the exclusive list.

8. The naira has demonstrated signs of strengthening against the United States dollar, appreciating by N125 to reach N1,275/$1 over the weekend. The new rate represents a 9.8 per cent increase when compared to N1,400 to a dollar it traded at the close of trading activity on Friday.

9. The immediate-past governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, on Sunday, asked his counterpart in Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, to come out of his hiding and answer his case with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Speaking at a Redeemed Christian Church of God in Makurdi, Benue State during the thanksgiving service organised by his aides for his 63rd birthday celebration, Ortom advised Bello to come out of hiding.

READ Breaking: Ogun Speaker Oluomo impeached

10.
The campaign coordinator of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa in Supare, Akoko South West Local Government Area of Ondo State, Alaba Abbey, has been shot dead. Late Abbey was shot dead on Saturday evening at his residence in Supare.