Chief Philip Asiodu, a retired federal permanent secretary, on Saturday, May 21, 2016, said that from 1960 when the country got independence, it has been bedeviled with various economic challenges which have made it impossible for the country to have policies that could transform the lives of the Nigerian people for good.
Asiodu, who was also a special adviser to former President Alhaji Shehu Shagari and economic adviser to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, listed the many sins of the Nigerian leaders which have aided the downward crash of the Nigerian state.
He spoke during the memorial lecture in honour of late premier of Midwestern region of Nigeria, Chief Dennis Osadebay, organized by ASDEV 81 Club in Asaba, the Delta State capital.
Asiodu, who participated in the negotiation for the admission of Nigeria into Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), said the dependence of Nigeria on mono economy which accounts for 95 percent of the nation’s revenue has been the bane of the nation’s economy development.
He said though President Muhammadu Buhari, who was elected on a promised change, has impeccable credentials for probity, he lamented that his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has no articulated programme for the transformation of Nigeria.
He said President Buhari leads a party which has no long term vision for Nigeria, nor a manifesto with clear programmes and projects for the transformation of Nigeria into a first world state.
Although Buhari promised ending corruption and re-introduce good governance which will pursue public interest, he said Nigerians are yet to see a clear direction of the President Buhari’s agenda towards giving better life to the Nigerian people.
He condemned the reliance of government on the private sector to provide necessary goods and services to Nigerians when the government has not provided the enabling pro-investment regulatory environment and implementation of measures to enhance Nigeria international competitiveness.
Participants at the memorial lecture which was attended by Governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa and his counterpart from Anambra State, Willie Obiano, agreed that the emergence of the Fulani militia, the Boko Haram insurgency and the resurgence of the Niger Delta militants are products of a failed state and incompetent governments with visionless programmes for the people.
President of ASDEV 81 Club, Godfrey Ogbolu, said for the numerous achievements of the late Osadebay for the Nigerian state and considering the honour done to his contemporaries, Nigeria government should consider setting up a federal university in the name of Osadebay, naming a street in Abuja and the Asaba International airport after him.
He listed Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo, Ahmadu Bello, Ladoke Akintola, Michael Okpara and others whom the federal government has honoured with national monuments and institutions, saying late Chief Osadebay deserved such honours considering his contribution to national development.
