A professor of political economy and management expert, Pat Utomi, has said present and past leaders of the country have done very little to diversify Nigeria’s economy.
He said despite promises by successive administrations to diversify the economy, the heavy dependence on crude oil still continued, warning that failure to diversify could spell doom for the country.
Utomi spoke during the launch of the ‘Rebuild Nigeria Initiative’ in Abuja.
He said, “The word ‘diversification’ if you do a content analysis, must be the most used word in budget broadcasts in Nigeria. For more than 30 years I have heard of promises to diversify our economy away from dependence on crude oil. I mean, I have heard it so many times that it is like playing in my head.
“Unfortunately, we’ve done very little in that direction and it has assumed a new urgency because the world is going through an energy transition. We have forgotten that crude oil is a finite resource. In 10 to 12 years from now, as close as that is, few cars will run on petrol. We’ve to put our hydrocarbons endowment to other kinds of uses.”
He also called on the Federal Government to take a cue from countries like Botswana, and other countries with better economies that have massively invested in their youths.
Utomi said the youths are major drivers of the economy of any country, lamenting that Nigeria had failed to invest in its youth.
He specifically said Botswana became the fastest growing economy in the world between 1968 and 1980 because the country invested revenue realiSed from diamonds in its youths.
Utomi said, “This year, about $4 billion of investments are expected to come to Nigeria’s tech space which is dominated by youth.
“They are the ones holding the economy right now, they’re doing it in Nollywood. They’re doing it with the music industry. Just imagine that we put a cost on them, that we treated them like the kings that they deserved, and really deserved to be treated.
“Imagine, If we had invested massively in their education and put other things in place for their things will work well. We’ve got to stop politicians from taking advantage of this easy money that comes into the treasury. We should do things like Botswana did. Botswana, from 1968 to 1980, was the fastest growing economy in the world, essentially from diamond exports.
“What did Botswana do, they saved most of that money and put it in a future fund because they realise that all Botswana’s born 200 years from now have as much as share of it, as they will live today. And they continue to produce. So, we’ve not done that in Nigeria. What we have are very ambitious elites that’s rushing to buy private jets.”
Earlier, the Chairman of Rebuild Nigeria Initiative, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo, noted that Nigeria is faced with unprecedented times, and fault lines borne from ethnoreligious conflicts.
He charged well-meaning Nigerians to come together to accelerate progress towards a new Nigeria where the rights and well-being of the citizens are upheld.
Copyright PUNCH.
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.
Contact: [email protected]
