A former Governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, yesterday, called for massive investment in the nation’s youth population through deliberate education and skills development.
He gave the charge during a symposium entitled: “Let us rebuild,” organised by Diya, Fatimilehin & Co, in honour of Gboyega Fatimilehin, who turned 70 years old.
Mimiko said one possession the nation needs to deploy for growth is the huge youth population, which is lacking in the advanced world, adding that aggressive programmes of investment must include those in technology and agriculture, social housing to catalyse employment, addressing character deficits among the people, incentivising businesses to grow, involve professionals in local infrastructure development and encouraging the ‘can do spirit.’
The former governor expressed dismay that since independence, Nigeria has not done well as a nation with insecurity, the largest number of pregnant women dying, low Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and high rate of unemployment.
He, therefore, suggested that the nation’s focus should not be on economic growth but on development, as growth without development, is a philosophy of the cancer cell.
Senior Special Adviser to the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Prof. Oyebanji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, said the government needs to refocus on food security by investing massively in agriculture, adopting mechanised agribusiness using all the necessary tools, diversifying the economy and prioritising security and basic services.
Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, who said that financing and technology are challenges, maintained that without industrialisation, Nigeria would remain poor.
He lamented that Nigeria had the fourth highest maternal mortality rate globally with 576 per 100,000 live births, according to the United Nations Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF), noting that Nigeria accounted for nearly 20 per cent of global maternal deaths and has developed a systemic structure of inequity, with 20 per cent of the population owning 65 per cent of the nation’s assets while 70 per cent are involved in low productivity, low skill, or rural labour.
He, however, cautioned that the government at all levels must note that ‘when you have too many people doing nothing, it drags down economic growth.
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by the Commissioner for Housing, Moruf Akinderu-Fatai, called for inclusive economic growth, addressing disparity and ensuring that opportunities are accessible to everyone.
Sanwo-Olu added that by embracing innovations, investing in institutions and ensuring that growth is inclusive, the nation would engender improved growth.
Also, Managing Director, Planet Projects Limited, Biodun Otunola, said Nigeria needs to expand infrastructure of the country by improving funding of projects through borrowing, engaging core professionals for its infrastructure development and halting the idea of making infrastructure development a transactional issue.
He said that lack of technical expertise resulted in increased debt and minimal infrastructure development in the country.
