The NEW NIGERIAN NATION
Buhari
Nigerians continue to get caught up in the moment without seeing the bigger picture. I have heard people say that the President really did it for Fashola by giving him three ministries to supervise even after all the backlash. I agree that the President’s intention is to give a competent Mr Fashola a great responsibility however I think the real winners in this game are two of the South Eastern Ministers even though they may not even know it.
Dr Chris Ngige is Minister of Labour and Employment. Labour belongs to the old school so nothing exciting there. However that fact that a new department of Employment has been created should really excite the Minster as it does excite me. I have advanced for the creation of a Federal Ministry of Employment for a while now and I think this President has heard our cries. It is up to Dr Chris Ngige to make it happen. The Employment portfolio is very very very important to the future of Nigeria and the stability of this Administration. So a lot lies on the shoulders of the new Minister.
Dr Ogbonnaya Onu is Minister of Science and Technology and Nigeria seems to be the only country in the entire World that does not seem to take technology seriously. It is technology not oil that has made the United States one of the richest Nations in the World today. It is technology not oil that has made India the third fastest growing economy in the World today. So there is monumental wealth that stands to be gained from Technology. If I were Dr Onu I would be excited as well as there is much to be achieved in the technology area for Nigeria. We can create new wealth far away from the rent seeking hawks who will not allow other departments and other industries to progress.
Related
Latest
Get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox every day of the week. Stay informed with the Guardian’s leading coverage of Nigerian and world news, business, technology and sports.
2 Comments
Your article if very apt. Just this morning I realized most headlines were about the entertainment industry. However every country that have experienced phenomenal transformation have deployed new ways new methods which by implication is new technology to solve their most urgent problems. While I salute the genius that has transformed our arts, it’s time we take our Science and Technology serious again. In the sixties, the visionaries created Research Centres to support every sphere of Agricultural industry, today, Nigeria has serious power problems, transportation problems, housing problems, major health problems. All these problems have created and supported industries in America, China, India and other technology providers. It’s time to domesticate those opportunities. The same way the Entertainment industry has been supported to domesticate our entertainment needs such that we hardly watch western movies or depend on western music any longer, I wish to see Nigerias Manufacturing, Health, Transportatoon, Power and Agric Sector begin to look internally for solutions. One way to do this is to build a bridge between our universities and the reality of the industries. Market focused and market funded research, tax breaks for local manufacturing , off take guarantees, tax breaks, curriculum modification to align with our local needs, supervised diversion of overseas scholarships to focused and functional Nigerian universities , incentives to attract skilled and relevant Nigerians with global experience and network for ease of technology transfer. If we can start today, in 8 years time our exchange rate may be driving in the much desired direction and value, Ministry of Employment would have solved the unemployment problem working closely with the Ministry of Science and Technology, so as your article says, the Igbos again have the best ministries a synergy between the 2 distinguished gentlemen who I’ve the utmost respect for will librate Nigeria, like Obasanjo -Okonko combination liberated us from Exxessive foreign debts in the those days.
GBAM! GBAM!! GBAM!! and BINGO. Good posting. Have a nice day.
We will review and take appropriate action.